Apparently Crystal Palace need a new striker

Between their downturn of form, the exit of Marc Guehi, and Oliver Glasner’s announcement that he will not return next season, it’s been a rough January for Crystal Palace. And it’s gotten a bit worse with striker Jean-Philippe Mateta informing the club that he’d like to leave this month. Aston Villa and Juventus are both in negotiations.

Villa’s out of true PSR hell, but their finances are still a touch precarious, so they’d love to get out of the Evann Guessand deal if they’re going to bring in Mateta. He hasn’t really performed after making a £30m move from Nice this summer, mostly because he’s played exclusively on the wing after playing centrally in Ligue 1 last year.

I feel like Palace would rather have the cash than do a swap, and this one feels a bit unrealistic.

Another replacement rumour that’s emerged is Derby County striker Patrick Agyemang. The Rams signed the American over the summer, and he’s doing well in his debut Championship season. Good enough to get flipped to a Premier League team for double the money? Ehhhhhh.

Given that both relegation and Europe are looking nearly impossible for Palace at the moment, I’d kick the can down the road and rebuild in the summer. If Mateta’s going to throw a fit if he’s not sold and someone gets close to Palace’s valuation, they should sell and replace with an extremely cheap signing or loan. Build your war chest, get your ducks in a row, and get ready to build your next great team during the offseason.

More transfer rumours

• Speaking of potential Aston Villa transfers, they’ve enquired about Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. I wouldn’t personally hand out long-term contracts to 29-year-olds with long injury histories, but they’re good players when fit.

• This Emi Martinez rumour makes me feel a bit sad about the times we’re living in. If he wants to move from Aston Villa to Inter Milan, he’ll need to take a pay cut. I want to get into a time machine and stop Calciopoli from ever happening.

• And now we’re into the weird Manchester United midfield rumours section of the newsletter. They’re interested in Wolves’ Joao Gomes and Barcelona’s Marc Casado, who would both cost in the ~£30m range. These both get a big old “that’s fine I guess?” from me, which is how I’ve felt about almost all of United’s business for two years. Not ideal, but a big upgrade from being really stupid.

• Speaking of really stupid, “United might offer Manuel Ugarte as a makeweight in a swap deal for Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki.” No they won’t. That won’t happen. Shut up.

• Bournemouth and apparently also West Ham are weighing up whether to pay the €30m release clause for Real Betis winger Pablo Garcia. I don’t think West Ham would spend that kind of money at the moment, and I don’t think anyone of Garcia’s caliber would sign for them either. I also don’t expect Bournemouth to follow through on this, because…

• They’re reportedly close to signing Rayan from Vasco da Gama. He’s also a teenager winger who will cost around the same amount of money. Bournemouth’s recent track record is good enough that they might know something I don’t, but I am extremely skeptical of this move. There are red flags galore in this profile.

• Ethan Nwaneri is about to wrap up a loan from Arsenal to Marseille, which seems like a good level for him. They’re not exactly lacking for attacking depth though, so I hope he actually plays.

• A previously mentioned move to Parma for one of my personal favorites Andreas Schjelderup fell through, so now he’s talking to Brugge. Still think he should be heading to a higher level than that, and they’ll flip him for double the money.

• Anis Hadj Moussa has been linked to Chelsea, among other clubs, though I think that’s a name his agent just threw in to justify higher wage demands. The Marseille, Benfica, and Bundesliga links make a lot more sense. He’s a very interesting player for a club at that level, and I think he’ll do well with that step up.

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