Crystal Palace’s rise under Oliver Glasner has been nothing short of magnificent.
Glasner has galvanised the Eagles. The talent that has emerged at Palace since the Austrian took charge is salient: Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi.
While Olise and Eze have been sold to Bayern Munich and Arsenal, respectively, Glasner worked hard to make sure Guehi stayed at Palace at the last minute after interest from Liverpool in the summer.
Now, there are rumours around Jean-Philippe Mateta’s future after talks on a new contract reportedly stalled. Mateta’s contract is up in 2027, which reports suggesting Palace could be willing to listen to offers in the summer to avoid him leaving on free transfer the following year.
Glasner hasn’t been shy in speaking out about the lack of backing he has had in the transfer market. The Austrian recently claimed the club had missed chances to build on his FA Cup success in the summer.
While that was more about incomings, he would surely not be happy with talks about selling his starting striker too. The question is, could Palace manage without Mateta should the Frenchman be allowed to leave?
In this article we’ll cover:
Mateta’s importance
Mateta had a very slow start to life at Selhurst Park, but he found his feet under Glasner. The Frenchman scored 16 league goals in 2023-24, adding another 14 last season. This season, Mateta has already netted seven in 14 matches.
Given the toughness of the Premier League, that’s no mean feat. But Mateta is more than just goals. He’s the focal point of many of their attacks.
Crystal Palace rank fourth in the Premier League this season for attempted long passes, with 768 in total. Mateta is often the target for such passes.
He has the ability to drag a centre-back out of the defensive line with him and be the target man for the long pass, getting Palace up the pitch in a direct and quick manner.
With Glasner deploying a 3-4-2-1, the priority is to stay compact and hold teams at arm’s length. When opposition attacks fail to bring goals, Palace can look to go long to Mateta. The Frenchman then uses his strength to hold defenders off and bring others into the game.
Mateta has established a good relationship in attack with Ismaila Sarr and Yeremy Pino, who can both play off the Frenchman. One of Mateta’s biggest strengths is his ability to trap a pass in the air, or on the floor, to start quick counter-attacks.
Could Crystal Palace manage without Mateta?
Mateta has scored 25 goals for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, with only Wilfried Zaha (68) netting more for the Eagles. And Mateta’s improvement has been since Glasner tok over. Many players have seen their calibre shoot up since the Austrian arrived. Palace have been able to function without some of them, including Eze and Olise. But too many attacks go through Mateta.
With Mateta entering the peak of his career, it would be too difficult and too risky for Palace to replace him. Guehi is set to become a free agent in the summer, so allowing Mateta to leave too would be a costly decision.
Palace and Glasner have built something special together. Stripping the team of their best components may irritate the Austrian manager and signal the end of his reign.
If Palace were to sell Mateta, they would no doubt wait until after the 2026 World Cup. Mateta could feature at the tournament, which may well increase his value. The question is, who would they go for.
The Eagles need a striker who has a knack for scoring goals, but who can also be the target man for counter-attacks. The likes of Alexander Sorloth, Chris Wood, Danny Welbeck and Raul Jimenez spring to mind. When you take a look at the rest of the league and the strikers playing, there is only one option for Palace’s profile. One of the best strikers in Europe.
And that man is Jean-Philippe Mateta.