It cannot be ruled out that AC Milan go back in for Jean-Philippe Mateta in the summer window, according to a report.
Back in January, Mateta was just a medical away from joining Milan, but then issues with his knee came up and the plug was pulled on a deal worth €35m. The French striker remained at Crystal Palace, and after overcoming his knee problem he has started playing regularly and scoring again.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
Calciomercato.com report that in these final months of the season, Mateta wants to push hard to convince Didier Deschamps to take him to the World Cup, then he’ll move on and figure out what to do with his future.
Rossoneri revival?
According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace currently appear unwilling to offer a renewal to his contract, which expires in June 2027. The club are evaluating a summer sale to avoid the risk of losing him for free in a year, after the player had already rejected an initial offer for an extension in the past.
In January, Milan were close to signing him for €35m as mentioned, but with a year to go until his contract expires, the price may have dropped, especially since Crystal Palace has already signed Jorgen Strand Larsen (a deal worth over €50m).
Calciomercato.com add that it’s ‘not out of the question’ that Milan – if they don’t buy Niclas Füllkrug, as is likely – could return to Mateta, having more time to assess his fitness compared to the last transfer window.
In the winter, the management had to try close the deal in the final few hours and perhaps didn’t have the time needed to do in-depth tests on a knee that now seems fine. A lot would depend on how relations are with Palace following the late U-turn, and of course further fitness checks.
Juventus had also been in contact in January, and they’re planning to make some changes in attack for next season. The player had expressed openness to a move to Turin, and that could be an option worth considering this summer.
Keep an eye on potential Saudi Arab and Turkish options, as well as a permanent move to the Premier League, with Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest interested.
Mateta and Retegui should be signed this summer. But Milan needs 3 strikers as Kostic can be the 4th striker. So I would love for Milan to have next season Mateta, Retegui, Santi Castro and Kostic.
Kean is not worth 50m and Lewandowski is going to the MLS for a more lucrative contract.
Mateta, Retegui and Castro would cost Milan 150 mil combined,
On top of that, why would 2 of the 3 come to Milan to be bench players?
How about a more realistic wish list
Nonsense. Mateta has a year left on his contract at Crystal Palace so he will be sold for less than 35m we offered in January. Crystal Palace already signed a striker to replace him so they will take anywhere from 10-15m but it will under 20m for sure.
Castro is not worth more than 20-25m so I highly doubt he will be sold for more than 30m max and that’s on the high end.
Retegui won’t be sold for more 50-55m. He’s not playing well in the Saudi league and he’s also injured until late June or July.
So if we total the maximum for each player Mateta will be around 15m + Castro 30m and Retegui 55m. That’s a total of 80-100m for 3 strikers.