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As the January transfer window comes to a close, Barcelona have reportedly already set their sights on signing an in-form Crystal Palace star when the summer arrives
Crystal Palace transfer news
The Eagles have done well to keep hold of their own star men in the last month whilst also welcoming additions themselves to hand Oliver Glasner a welcomed boost.
Having commenced the January transfer window by welcoming a young talent in Romain Esse – who scored on his debut against Brentford recently – Palace ended their window by welcoming an experienced defender in the form of Ben Chilwell.
The Chelsea defender comes in at the same time that those at Selhurst Park were reportedly forced to reject an offer of as much as £70m from Tottenham Hotspur for Marc Guehi.
After Chilwell: Crystal Palace now pushing for dream Chalobah replacement
Rejecting the offer with such little time remaining to find a viable replacement, Guehi may not be the only star man who Crystal Palace face a battle to keep when the summer arrives.
According to reports in Spain, Barcelona are now plotting a move to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta this summer and see the forward as a less complicated option on the spending front as well as one who could replace Robert Lewandowski.
Whether Crystal Palace agree with that verdict on the economical front remains to be seen, however, given that they remained unmoved by Spurs’ late big-money attempts to lure Guehi away from South London.
Should they remain just as stubborn in the face of Barcelona’s chase of Mateta, then Palace may yet keep hold of their star striker this summer.
“Amazing” Mateta is more important than ever
If Barcelona come calling this summer, then Palace should do everything in their power to turn the Spaniards down amid Metata’s growing importance. The 27-year-old is at the peak of his powers and last summer’s move to sign Eddie Nketiah seemingly only spurred him on to make the starting role his own and prove that he is the best option for Glasner at Selhurst Park.
After scoring twice in a 2-0 victory over Manchester United last time out, Mateta was at the centre of his Glasner’s praise. The Austrian told reporters: “We don’t always talk because he knows what we demand of him. With his two goals today, he is amazing in the box.
“He has the feeling that a number nine must have in the box. He makes so many runs where he doesn’t get the ball. You need to suffer as a striker because you make so many runs where you don’t get the ball. He gets the reward and it decides the game for us.”
With six goals in his last five Premier League games, Mateta is once again the man of the moment for Crystal Palace.
