Two hurdles for Milan to overcome before landing Mateta deal with Crystal Palace

Reports in Italy claim that Milan are closing in on a full agreement with Crystal Palace for centre-forward Jean-Phillippe Mateta, but the Rossoneri still have two obstacles to overcome before welcoming the Frenchman to San Siro. 

According to Friday’s reports, Milan have an agreement in place with Mateta, who is pushing to join Massimiliano Allegri’s side in January. Updates from La Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday morning claim that Mateta is set to join on a contract until 2030 with wages in the region of €3.5m per season. 

According to Saturday’s update, Milan are still waiting to see whether or not it will be feasible to complete a deal with Crystal Palace in January. 

If they are able to get a deal done before the close of the window, Milan are prepared to pay a fee of €35m including bonuses, which will drop to €30m including bonuses if they are made to wait until the summer transfer window. 

In order for the deal to go ahead in January, Crystal Palace will first need to find a replacement, as Oliver Glasner will not be satisfied purely by a loan deal for Aston Villa’s Evann Guessand. 

Secondly, Milan must also formalise their sale of Christopher Nkunku, who is expected to be sacrificed in order to make way for the arrival of Mateta. Milan would prefer to sell Nkunku outright, but La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that they could also be tempted by a loan offer with a conditional obligation to buy.