Aston Villa have seen a bid rejected for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. Standard Sport understands that the offer fell below Palace's valuation of the 29-year-old. It is unclear at this stage if Villa will return with a second approach.
Watkins uncertainty fuels Villa interest
Mateta is being lined up as a potential replacement for Ollie Watkins, who is attracting strong interest from Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Watkins was left out of Villa's matchday squad for their 4-0 defeat by Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday, with manager Unai Emery suggesting that only Watkins could explain why he was absent from the team.
Mateta's contract dispute at Palace
Mateta, meanwhile, is facing a conflict of his own at Palace after it was revealed this week that he took the club to a Premier League tribunal last season to claim that the final 12 months of his contract were legally invalid, later escalating the issue to FIFA.
While the ruling of the tribunal has not been made public, it is understood it was made clear to Mateta that the contract - which runs until the summer of 2027 - remains binding. FIFA ruled that they did not have jurisdiction over the matter.
Recent near-miss and return to form
The revelations have left Mateta's Palace future in doubt, with Villa now stepping up their interest in the France international. Mateta came close to leaving Selhurst Park in January, only for a failed medical to scupper his proposed £30million move to Serie A giants AC Milan.
After not having surgery on the knee injury which saw his switch to the San Siro fall through, Mateta returned to fitness and wrote his name into Palace folklore by netting the winning goal in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig in May. He was called up to France's World Cup squad earlier this summer as they reached the semi-finals of the tournament in North America and started for Palace as they lost 2-0 to Everton in their opening game of the Premier League season on Saturday.
