Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave the club this January, amid interest from Aston Villa and Juventus.
The striker has wanted to leave Selhurst Park since last summer when multiple clubs tried to sign him, and he did not agree a new contract with Palace.
Juventus and Aston Villa have looked at signing him this month, but Juve trying to sign him for an initial loan fee of just £1.7m (€2m) was a total non-runner.
Palace executive chairman Steve Parish is a notoriously tough negotiator and has always been reluctant to let any players leave on the cheap.
Palace still value Mateta at around £35m even though he will be 29 in June and out of contract in the summer of 2027. They are not actively trying to sell Mateta and, as things stand, an exit is not close.
Palace want to strengthen their squad this month. They want to try and win the Conference League and finish as high as possible in the Premier League, but they have already to Man City for £20m in this window and head coach when his contract runs out.
Villa are , who is currently on loan at Besiktas from Roma, but are also interested in Mateta.
Juventus have not completely given up hope of signing Mateta, but are also working on a deal for Fenerbahce's Youssef En-Nesyri as an alternative.
Manchester United had an interest in Mateta, but that was driven more by former head coach Ruben Amorim, who wanted a striker with Premier League experience.
As things stand, there is no expectation that United will pursue a striker in this window after spending £200m on Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko in the summer. Their next priority is signing a midfielder in the summer.
Mateta wants to play for a Champions League club or for a club who have a good chance of playing in the competition next season.
He also wants to play for France at this summer's World Cup after being called up for the first time in October and then scoring his first goal away to Iceland.
Palace turned down bids for Mateta from Champions League clubs in the summer, and there was also a late enquiry - but no bid - from Tottenham before they signed Randal Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on Deadline Day.
Italian sides Atalanta, AC Milan, Juventus and several Premier League clubs were also interested in Mateta in the summer, but a move did not happen.
Palace signed Mateta in January 2021 from Mainz, initially on loan, in a deal worth about £15m.
He has gone on to establish himself as one of the top No 9s in the Premier League, with only Erling Haaland (27) scoring more Premier League goals than Mateta (17) in 2025.
Since Glasner's first Premier League game in charge of Palace in February 2024, only Haaland and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah have scored more league goals than Mateta (35).
But in the past two and a half months he has scored only once from open play - in the 1-1 draw at Fulham on New Year's Day.
Mateta has scored 56 goals in 185 appearances for Palace, helping the club to FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs at Wembley in 2025.
He has started all 22 of Palace's league games this season, scoring eight goals, plus hitting two more and providing two assists in 10 appearances in cup competitions.
Last season, he netted 17 goals in 47 matches as Palace won the FA Cup to qualify for European football for the first time.
The 28-year-old has three caps and two goals for France.
Your Site' David Richardson:
First it was Eberechi Eze, then it was Marc Guehi, now it's Oliver Glasner and soon it could be Jean-Philippe Mateta - Crystal Palace are losing their spine.
Just months after winning the FA Cup and Community Shield at Wembley, their key figures from those glory days have headed, or are heading, for the exit.
Palace's first major season in Europe is being overshadowed by what's happening off the pitch. Supporters were always going to savour their Conference League adventure - they need to enjoy it even more as it could be some time before they return.
There is little threat of relegation right now, sitting 11 points above the bottom three, albeit winless in their last seven games and 10 in all competitions.
But if there is any hope for Palace's future, then Brentford have shown how they can lose key players and their head coach yet still improve.
Palace have already invested some of the funds from the Eze and Guehi sales into signing Brennan Johnson from Tottenham, and will need to spend further to help limit the damage of their big-name losses.
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