Amorim has been searching for the perfect match for his squad’s striker position for a long time, and Jean-Phillipe Mateta may be the next to don the No. 9 jersey.
Born in Saint-Denis, France, the son of former professional footballer, Luc Adamo Matéta, began his professional career at Châteauroux, until he was picked up by Lyon in 2016. He was then loaned to Le Havre in 2017, signed by Mainz o5 in 2018, and has now been playing for Crystal Palace since 2021.
The Frenchman’s stardom grew to new heights last year after he represented his country in the Paris 2024 Olympics, and even scored against Spain in France’s final game and took home a silver medal.
BOOOOOOM 😍#CPFC // #Olympics https://t.co/tO2aOP8cDp
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 9, 2024
All these accolades mean Mateta’s value, strategic and monetary, has grown drastically and, desperate for a new striker, caught Amorim’s interest.
The Red Devils’ campaign to find a new striker previously led them to sign Rasmus Hojlund for £72M in August last year, but the Dutchman has been struggling to live up to that hefty price tag.
In an article about Hojlund, the mailonline pointed out that “[the] Man United striker is in the midst of a 19-game goal drought”, and so Amorim’s confidence in him is unsurprisingly dwindling.
Clearly, Amorim has more confidence in Mateta being the right fit, but the eye-watering figure that Crystal Palace has demanded for him may change that.
According to the Mirror, Manchester United have learned that they will have to cough up £40M to Crystal Palace to acquire the striker Jean-Phillipe Mateta.
But United aren’t the only ones interested in signing Mateta.
According to transfermarkt, Diego Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid have also staked an interest in signing the 27 year-old, perhaps after their 2-1 loss to their derby rivals, Real Madrid, earlier this week in the UEFA Champions League.
It will remain to be seen as to whether United will fork out for the talented Frenchman, but he would make a significant addition to the squad regardless.
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