Jean-Philippe Mateta was close to securing a dream move to AC Milan at the end of the January transfer window. but the deal collapsed at the very end.
Mateta was keen to secure an exit from Crystal Palace but failed the medical at San Siro. Issues during the Frenchman medical checks ensure he remains a Palace player.
Despite both teams already reaching an agreement on a transfer fee, AC Milan uncovered an issue which made the transfer unappealing and subsequently pulled the plug.
According to BBC Sport, Palace disclosed the issues Mateta has had to deal with in recent years regarding his right knee during negotiations. The striker ruptured his meniscus in 2019 while playing for Mainz and underwent surgery that year, keeping him sidelined for six months.
Jean-Philippe Mateta was on the verge of leaving Crystal Palace for AC Milan. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Subsequently, Milan decided that if they were to sign Mateta, he would need to go under the knife again to completely fix the issue, further reinforcing their reservations about the deal.
With the FIFA World Cup set to hold in some months time, Mateta now has a huge decision to make.
Mateta’s decision to join AC Milan saw Palace fork out around £48 million ($66m) to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves in a club-record deal.
Larsen is now likely to start ahead of Mateta, who might be forced to start from the bench despite his impressive record for club.
Also, if Mateta were to have surgery on his knee, it would rule him out of action for months, greatly hindering his selection chances against a number of excellent French attackers looking to play at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Mateta has scored eight Premier League goals so far this season, but only one of those has come in his 10 most recent appearances in the division.
Meanwhile, his possible replacement, Larsen scored only one goal for Wolves in 22 league games before departing Molineux.
