JEAN-PHILIPPE MATETA DEMANDS CRYSTAL PALACE EXIT AS JUVENTUS PREPARES A FRESH £35M BID
Frustrated by broken promises and a lack of ambition, Jean-Philippe Mateta demands a £35m move from Crystal Palace to Juventus.
Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave. The French striker feels the club's ambitions don't match his own. He's upset that promises about new players and a potential contract weren't kept. The 28-year-old wants to play European football regularly, and Juventus recently made an offer for him.
Mateta Not Happy with Crystal Palace
Reports suggest Mateta's time in South London may be coming to an end. Sky Sports says he wanted to leave last summer when several clubs showed interest. Contract talks near the end of 2025 didn't work out, leading him to think his future lies elsewhere. His current deal ends in the summer of 2027.
Juventus Interested in Mateta
The Times reports that Juventus offered a loan deal for Mateta: £1.7m to borrow him until the end of the season, with an extra £24m if they qualify for Europe to buy him outright. Palace turned it down and wants £35m for the player.
Juventus needs attacking players because Dusan Vlahovic has been injured since November with a shoulder problem. He should be back in March, but his contract with the club also ends this season.
Aston Villa might also try to sign Mateta. They've been linked with bringing back Tammy Abraham, who's currently on loan at Besiktas from Roma. Unai Emery's team loaned out Donyell Malen to Roma last week.
Manchester United was interested in Mateta last summer, but they spent a lot on Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Bryan Mbeumo. So, a move in January is unlikely.
Trouble at Crystal Palace
Mateta seems to be following his former captain and manager out of the club. Earlier this month, Palace agreed to sell Marc Guehi to Manchester City for a low price of £20m because he had less than six months left on his contract.
Soon after, manager Oliver Glasner, who won the FA Cup, said he'd be leaving when his contract ends in the summer. He was reportedly angry that the club let Eberechi Eze join Arsenal and might let Guehi leave for Liverpool at the end of the summer. Chairman Steve Parish blocked the £35m Guehi deal.
Before a game against Sunderland, Glasner said he felt abandoned by the club. This made Parish consider firing him, but they agreed Glasner would finish his contract.
Will Mateta Leave in January?
Glasner helped Mateta improve his game. He joined on loan from Mainz in January 2021 and then signed a permanent deal for £15m, but he struggled at first. Since Glasner arrived in February 2024, only Erling Haaland (59) and Mohamed Salah (36) have scored more Premier League goals than Mateta (34).
With Glasner leaving, Mateta's loyalty to Crystal Palace seems to be gone. Parish probably won't want another contract situation like the one with Guehi. Any club that wants Mateta this window will likely have to pay the £35m asking price or wait until the summer.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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