Crystal Palace No.14 Jean-Philippe Mateta received a mention from Aaron Ramsdale during a chat with Ebere Eze on England duty.
The Frenchman became a household name in English football at the end of last season after embarking on a quite remarkable goalscoring run, netting 13 goals in 13 appearances under Oliver Glasner.
Now, even those in England’s UEFA EURO 2024 squad are talking about Crystal Palace No.14 Jean-Philippe Mateta…
Why Aaron Ramsdale mentioned Mateta in England training
While speaking to Ebere Eze at St George’s Park, the Arsenal No.1 was discussing what celebration he would do if he ever scored – and Mateta has seemingly inspired him with his tendency of running over to the corner flag.
Ramsdale said: “You know when golfers make a putt and they tip the cap, so I’ll run to the corner flag and do a Mateta, but I won’t move – I’ll just putt it and put my hand up.”
If you told any Crystal Palace fan at the start of 2024 that England players would be talking about “doing a Mateta” while training for UEFA EURO 2024 – and that four Dougie Freedman signings had been called into the squad – they’d have surely given you a funny look.
Nevertheless, that is testament to how hard the £9m man has worked to turn himself into a clinical striker – one now being discussed casually amongst the England squad.
Crystal Palace have to extend the Frenchman’s contract
While every Crystal Palace fan is currently delighted with Mateta’s efforts in SE25, there could be a problem on the horizon.
The 26-year-old will only have 12 months remaining on his contract next summer, which puts Crystal Palace in a very precarious position if the man from Sevran enjoys another special season.
Should we reach that stage and Mateta is considering an exit, clubs would be able to sign him for a bargain fee – if not on a free transfer should the forward decide to run his contract down.
READ MORE: Ebere Eze laughs off “bad start” to England training camp ahead of UEFA EURO 2024 as footage emerges
Therefore, Steve Parish and Freedman should be making a contract extension a priority this summer, or else a potentially sticky situation awaits – especially with Borussia Dortmund and Napoli keen.
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