Nottingham Forest match £35m valuation for striker from rival Premier League club with opening bid

Nottingham Forest have made a £35million bid to sign Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, talkSPORT understands.

The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with a Selhurst Park departure before the January transfer window slams shut.

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Mateta is known to be keen to depart the south London outfit, though he has not handed in a transfer request.

Juventus held talks to sign the Frenchman, but they are unwilling to meet the Eagles’ valuation of the striker – believed to be in the region of £35million.

The Old Lady’s Serie A rivals AC Milan are also known to be admirers of the 2024 Olympic silver medallist.

While Aston Villa have emerged as another potential destination which could see Mateta challenge for the Premier League title.

But with the Villans closing in on a deal to bring Tammy Abraham back to the Midlands, a move for Mateta appears unlikely.

Now, Forest have remarkably entered the race to secure Mateta’s services as they eye up a shock swoop and have matched Palace’s valuation, but it remains to be seen whether the bid will be made or if the Frenchman wants to go.

Relegation-threatened Forest currently sit in 17th spot – two places and three points behind Palace in the table.

The two clubs meet each other this weekend at the City Ground where all eyes could be on Mateta.

A club legend at Palace for helping the side win both the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025, Mateta could sour his relationship with the Palace fans if he joins Forest.

Bad blood

It would be a highly contentious transfer for Palace fans to accept considering the battle between the two clubs last summer.

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Palace had qualified for the Europa League following their FA Cup glory, but were demoted to the Conference League and replaced by Forest.

Forest wrote a letter to UEFA to express concerns over Palace playing in the Europe’s second-tier competition amid ex-co-owner John Textor’s shares at the club.

The Reds argued that Palace should fall foul of multi-club ownership rules with Textor also the majority owner of Lyon, who qualified for the Europa League.

UEFA regulations state no individual is permitted to ‘simultaneously be involved in any capacity’ for ‘more than one club participating in a UEFA club competition’.

Textor ultimately agreed a deal to sell his shares in Palace, but the decision was made by UEFA to boot them of the tournament.

Palace ultimately unfurled a banner in protest against UEFA during a play-off clash with Fredrikstad – leading to a £8,600 fine.

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The banner was also shown in their Community Shield victory over Liverpool and opening day draw away at Chelsea.

It remains to be seen whether Palace would allow Mateta to move to Forest, while a transfer to their rivals will also boost their chances of survival.

With eight Premier League goals already, he boasts three more strikes than Forest’s top scorer in the division [Morgan Gibbs-White].

Tied down at Palace until 2027, the Eagles know the centre-forward’s valuation will only decrease if he fails to commit his future to the club.