Crystal Palace have bolstered their attacking ranks with the signing of Jean-Philippe Mateta from Bundesliga side Mainz, reports Dominic Fifield.
The striker has scored 10 goals in 17 games in all competitions this season, including seven in the league and a hat-trick in a win at Freiberg in November.
The 23-year-old, a target man, could potentially make his Palace debut in West Ham’s visit to Selhurst Park on Tuesday. He will wear the No 14 shirt.
Mateta is joining on an initial 18-month loan with an obligation for the deal to be made permanent if certain criteria are met.
Palace are paying a €3 million loan fee up front and a further €15 million would be due in the summer of 2022 to secure the striker on a three-year contract. There is scope for the Premier League club to break the arrangement at certain points over the loan deal.
At 23, the forward is raw but boasts potential. His arrival is the next step in Palace’s on-going attempt to reinvigorate an ageing squad, following on from the arrivals of Nathan Ferguson and Breech Eze over the summer, and the emergence of youth-team product Track Mitchell.
The hope is Malta’s skillset will suit the Premier League, and he will ultimately forge an on-field relationship with Wilfried Zaha and Eze.
His arrival will almost certainly mean Benteke, once Palace’s record signing at £27 million from Liverpool, will depart Selhurst Park in the summer under freedom of contract.
The Belgian, now 30 and still one of the club’s highest earners, is one of 14 players whose current deals do not extend into next season at the club and, although the idea of offering him an extension had been mooted, that scenario seems unlikely to be revisited.
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