Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta has claimed he's open to making any move that will allow him to maximise his career with Manchester United told they should've gone after the frontman
Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta admits it is "natural for ambitious players" to want to move up and hit certain milestones as he talked up being able to one day play in the Champions League.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed huge improvement in recent years and has become one of the most effective strikers in the Premier League, leading the line for an upwardly mobile Eagles outfit. Mateta has won the FA Cup and the Community Shield in recent months, with those exploits earning him a France call-up.
Mateta moved to Selhurst Park as an unknown quantity from Mainz in 2022 and, after a slow start, has hit his straps in recent years under Oliver Glasner. The Frenchman scored 17 goals in all competitions last term - which came after he'd score 19 the year prior to that.
Palace have seen some of their major names - the likes of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze - move on in more recent years when big clubs came calling. Mateta is now rubbing shoulders with some major names in the Les Blues set-up and insists he wants to go as far as he can in his career.
He was asked whether he would like to 'move up a gear' to join an elite club and told RMC Sport: "It's natural, every ambitious player wants to reach that milestone.
"Especially when you arrive in the national team and around you, there are only players who play in the Champions League, who win the biggest trophies. When you play surrounded by the best players in the world, naturally you want to reach that milestone."
Mateta has already scored four times this season for a Palace team that are flying high in the Premier League. They only tasted defeat for the first time at the weekend and the Frenchman has become one of their key figures ahead of a season in the Europa Conference League, where lifting the trophy could open up evem more possibilities.
Manchester United were previously urged to sign Mateta before they settled on Benjamin Sesko in the summer. They spent more than £70m to land the Slovenian but Sam Allardyce insists the Palace No 14 would've been ideal for them.
He said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: "Do you know who I’d have bought, more than anybody else? Mateta, absolutely. The centre-forward is absolutely brilliant and why they didn’t buy him, I don’t know, especially when the big strikers are coming back [into fashion]."