Crystal Palace have endured an eventful start to 2026, one which threatens to derail their season.
The club began the year sitting comfortably in mid-table, within touching distance of the European places, but a series of body blows has them looking over their shoulder and facing a last-minute scramble in the transfer market.
Shortly after being the victims of the biggest-ever giant-killing in FA Cup history when they lost to non-league Macclesfield, Palace announced that captain Marc Guehi would be moving to Manchester City, while their head coach Oliver Glasner confirmed that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.
Palace face last minute transfer scramble
With Palace winless since a 2-1 victory over Fulham on December 7, top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta would also submit a transfer request in a bid to force through a move away from Selhurst Park during the January window.
With a number of parties interested in the France international, including AC Milan, Juventus and Nottingham Forest, Palace identified unsettled Wolves forward Jorgen Strand Larsen as a potential replacement, making and then withdrawing a £50million offer, before Wolves accepted a reduced offer of £48million for the Norwegian, which still represents a potential club-record fee for the South Londoners.
This came with Milan appearing to close in on a deal for Mateta, but in a window full of twists for the Eagles, that deal now appears to have collapsed.
David Ornstein of The Athletic reports that issues with the player’s medical has meant Milan have walked away from the £26million deal, with the Italian giants unhappy with the forward’s knee issue that he has been playing through this season.
The breaking down of this move opens the door to a significant domino effect in the Premier League, given that Palace have Strand Larsen lined up as Mateta’s replacement, while Wolves are set to bring in Southampton’s Adam Armstrong and Torino’s Che Adams to replace the Norwegian.
But according to Ornstein, the Strand Larsen deal remains on, with the 25-year-old having reportedly completed his Palace medical, with just the final paperwork needing to be signed off.
As for Mateta, Sky Sports claim that Juventus could reignite their interest now that AC Milan have pulled out of the deal, while The Athletic add that a loan move before Monday night’s deadline is another possibility.
Forest and Villa were also linked with Mateta, who has netted ten times this season, earlier in the window.
Mateta, who is valued at €40million by Transfermarkt, is in the final 18 months of his deal at Selhurst Park.
