#jean-philippe-mateta

#jean-philippe-mateta

JP ... needs to rest. He came back with a minor injury from the French national team, and we had to manage his knee the whole time.

Palace still want Mateta to extend his contract. It's going to take some judgement on Palace's end to assess how they think the discussions are going, and then to plan accordingly. If it starts becoming clear that he's not going to sign, they want to maximise the fee they're going to get. I don't think they'll let it get to the same situation with Guehi where if they don't take the offer he's going to leave on a free, they'll sell him before that.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a second-half hat-trick, including a 97th-minute leveller from the penalty spot to help Crystal Palace snatch a point in an enthralling 3-3 draw with Bournemouth. Ryan Christie's late goal looked to have sent Andoni Iraola's side to the Premier League summit, but after Marc Guehi was fouled by Bafode Diakite inside the box, Mateta kept his cool from 12 yards to seal a share of the spoils.

For most of this breathless encounter, Bournemouth supporters were relishing the prospect of going top of the Premier League, albeit potentially only for a few hours, and inflicting only Crystal Palace's second home defeat of 2025. Andoni Iraola's impressive side had led through two goals from teenager Eli Junior Kroupi before being pegged back by Jean-Philippe Mateta and thought they had won it when substitute Ryan Christie scored with two minutes of normal time remaining.

He has to do what he knows how to do, which is to play as naturally as possible. He has a good habit of scoring goals, whether for his club or with the younger teams and the Olympic team during the Olympic Games. So this is a big moment for him. Let him come with his enthusiasm and his qualities. He knows most of the players because he's had seen in the younger teams too.