“£100,000 per week seems a lot, I don’t think Palace will fork out that sort of money for him, if he won’t sign a new deal then he’ll have to be sold”- Top scout explains why Crystal Palace may be forced to sell Mateta after failing to reach agreement over new deal for French striker

After failing to win once in their first eight Premier League games, Crystal Palace’s luck doesn’t seem set to change anytime soon, with former top-flight scout Mick Brown now claiming that the Eagles may have to sell Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Those at Selhurst Park have been suffering the impact of Michael Olise’s summer departure in full, having failed to win once in the league despite looking like a side ready to cause plenty of upsets at the start of Oliver Glasner’s tenure last season. With the likes of Ismaila Sarr, Eddie Nketiah and Maxence Lacroix all arriving in the summer, as Palace spent big following Olise’s sale, Glasner must turn things around after the international break, before hoping that Palace manage to avoid any further major exits in 2025.

Former Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham United scout Mick Brown believes that may not be the case, however, after hearing that Jean-Philippe Mateta is demanding as much as £100,000-a-week to sign a fresh deal at Selhurst Park.

The former scout told Football Insider: “I have to say, he’s made massive improvements all around. He hit that purple patch where he couldn’t stop scoring and he looked like a totally different player. Whether that’s a flash in the pan and he reverts to his previous level, time will tell.

“£100,000 per week seems a lot to me. I know Olise was on around that and Eze is as well, but is Mateta as important as those two players were? To be honest, I don’t think Palace will fork out that sort of money for him. It’s down to his agent, though. They’ll be driving things. They’ll see what other players are getting and they’ll want the same for their client.

“I don’t think Palace will be held to ransom over it, if he won’t sign a new deal then he’ll have to be sold, but it will be on their terms.”

On £100,000-a-week, Mateta would sit alongside Eberechi Eze and Dean Henderson on Crystal Palace’s wage bill and only behind summer arrival Daichi Kamada, who reportedly earns £105,000-a-week. And given that the Frenchman is the Eagles’ main talisman and arguably played a role of similar importance to Eze last season, his reported demands aren’t exactly far-fetched.

That said, as Brown claimed, Palace won’t be held to ransom and the arrival of Nketiah in the summer means that they’d have an instant replacement lined up for their star striker.

The former Arsenal man has only shown glimpses of his quality thus far at Selhurst Park, but if Glasner is left with no choice but to hand him the main role permanently, then Nketiah could thrive.

Nonetheless, without a Premier League win all season, any potential major departures would spell more trouble for Crystal Palace.