Aston Villa makes a record offer for another Premier League striker after Jean-Philippe Mateta
Aston Villa have made a huge bid for a Premier League striker after Crystal Palace turned down their offer for Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Villa had a tough start to the season on Saturday, losing 4-0 to Brighton at the AMEX Stadium. Their squad is missing some key players this summer, including Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea in a record £117 million deal, along with Lucas Digne, Donyell Malen, Youri Tielemans, and Ezri Konsa.
Ollie Watkins might also leave before the September 1 deadline. Al Hilal is keen on signing the England striker and has already had four offers rejected, including a £45m bid. Another offer could come soon. Watkins missed the big loss to Brighton after not training with the team, and he apologized to his teammates afterward.
Coach Unai Emery said Watkins could leave if they find a good replacement—which they seem closer to doing now.
Villa’s initial £20-25m offer for Crystal Palace’s Mateta was turned down this week. Mateta, 29, scored 12 Premier League goals last season and helped Palace reach the Europa Conference League. There’s some tension too, as Mateta went to a Premier League tribunal last season over his contract and later took the issue to FIFA.
With Watkins possibly leaving, Villa really need to boost their attack. They have reached out to AC Milan about winger Rafael Leao, who wants to leave, and also made an offer to Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.
According to journalist Santi Aouna, Villa’s bid for 25-year-old Jackson is around £70m, including bonuses. Chelsea had asked for £65m earlier, and now the clubs are close to a deal—with only Jackson’s contract to sort out.
Jackson was told he could leave Chelsea by new coach Xabi Alonso after training separately and missing out on the recent win over Fulham. Chelsea signed Jackson three years ago for £32m from Villarreal, where Emery coached before, and he has scored 30 goals in 81 games for them. He was also loaned to Bayern Munich last season. Tottenham is interested too, but it looks like Jackson is set for a record-breaking move to Villa.
Villa already broke their transfer record this summer by signing Johan Manzambi for £52m, and signing Jackson would smash that record again.