Exclusive: Crystal Palace want to keep in-form star, says transfer expert

Crystal Palace will not sell all their star names this summer and that means Fabrizio Romano is expecting them to try to keep Jean-Philippe Mateta, even if others like Michael Olise could leave.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Romano praised the superb recent form of Mateta, explaining that the 26-year-old Frenchman is considered a key part of Oliver Glasner’s project at Selhurst Park.

Mateta ended the season on a real purple patch, scoring nine goals in his final six games in the Premier League, and one imagines those performances won’t go unnoticed by bigger clubs as there’s likely to be a lot of interest in signing top strikers this summer.

Still, Romano says Palace want to keep Mateta, and he named young winger Olise as someone who could be more likely to leave, with the Eagles not prepared to let too many of their key players leave.

Mateta transfer: Palace want to keep key man for Glasner

“A player who ended the season in incredible form, I’m sure Crystal Palace want to keep Jean-Philippe Mateta,” Romano said.

“They of course want to keep Oliver Glasner after his remarkable start as manager, and Mateta is considered an important part of the project for the next season.

“I don’t think they will sell all of their stars, so Michael Olise is one who could leave but Palace want Mateta to stay.”

Palace fans will no doubt be happy with this news, though they’ll also surely be hoping their club can avoid losing someone like Olise as well, as Glasner looks to have the makings of a very exciting project on his hands right now.

If Palace keep this squad together then they could surely do considerably better than their 10th place finish in the Premier League table this term.