Germany stintMateta, 23, had been on the books of Bundesliga outfit Mainz since 2018.The Frenchman, who lined out for his country at both U19 and U21 level, is a product of the famed academy of Ligue 1 giants Lyon, but first began to truly make a name for himself during his time in Germany.Mateta’s debut campaign at the Opel Arena saw the hitman rack up an impressive 14 league goals, to go along with 2 assists.And, on the back of a difficult year last time out, during which Mainz narrowly avoided relegation, the towering attacker has since rediscovered his goalscoring touch.Across 17 appearances in all competitions this season, Mateta has found the net on a none-too-shabby 10 occasions.
FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 22: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Jean-Philippe Mateta of 1. FSV Mainz 05 celebrates after scoring his teams third goal during the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Schwarzwald-Stadion on November 22, 2020 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. (Photo by Tom Weller/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) Selhurst switchWith such exploits, though, of course comes outside interest.In turn, earlier this week, reports began to mount that Premier League outfit Crystal Palace had not only set their sights on Mateta, but were in fact on the verge of closing a deal for the hitman.Interestingly, this came just months after he was named as a target for Palace’s capital rivals Tottenham.It therefore came as little surprise when the tr...