September 15, 2016. Looking for a striker to strengthen its offensive sector after the injuries to Alexandre Lacazette and Nabil Fekir, Olympique Lyonnais had bet on Jean-Philippe Mateta. Brilliant in the Châteauroux jersey, the 19-year-old player at the time was considered a future great, having had a good season with 13 goals scored in 29 National matches. Joining Les Gones was therefore an important step in the career of the native of Sevran. But OL perhaps arrived a little too early for him, who certainly needed to go through an intermediate stage.
In Lyon, he mainly played with the reserve. Regarding the professional group, he only appeared three times (twice in Ligue 1 and once in the Coupe de France). To allow him to progress and gain playing time, OL sent him on loan to Ligue 2 to HAC (18 goals in 36 matches), before selling him to Mainz in 2018 for 10 million dinars. ‘euros. In Germany, the player born in 97 continued his momentum by finding the net 14 times (2 assists) in 34 matches in all competitions.
Mateta scores goals
Injured for a long time during his second season (3 goals, 1 assist in 18 matches), he then scored 10 goals (1 assist) during the first part of the 2020-21 financial year. Then, he was sent on loan to Crystal Palace during the winter transfer window (1 goal in 7 matches). Convinced by his qualities, his talent and his potential, the Eagles decided to keep him on loan again before buying him permanently in 2022 for 11 million euros. A choice that the English team does not regret. After two new seasons (7 goals in the first, 2 in the second), he is getting everyone to agree.
Indeed, he posted his best passing times in England. In addition to providing 4 assists, he scored 14 goals in all competitions, including 9 in the calendar year. The last and even the penultimate are recent since he registered them yesterday during the 2-0 victory against Newcastle. The press is getting excited after his new double (he had already scored 2 goals against West Ham the previous day, editor’s note). The Sun writes about him: “Mateta left the £100m (around €116m) Alexander Isak in the shadows as the striker ran amok through the heart of Newcastle’s backline.”
Glasner’s good influence
His coach, Oliver Glasner, enjoyed his match. “Jean-Philippe Mateta has a lot of qualities and now he has confidence.” The Austrian technician, who arrived on the Palace bench on February 19, is no stranger to this. Under his orders, Mateta scored 8 goals in 10 matches. Since Glaser took office, the Frenchman is the second top scorer in the Premier League, behind Cole Palmer (Chelsea, 10 goals). This did not escape theEvening Standardwhich evokes the metamorphosis of the former OL player, whose contract ends in June 2026.
“The meteoric rise of Jean-Philippe Mateta in recent months constitutes one of the main successes of the start of the Oliver Glasner era at Crystal Palace (…) The Frenchman now has eight goals in nine matches since Glasner took over. took charge in February, and for the first time he made the difference for the team – Mateta scoring both goals as Palace ousted Newcastle 2-0 at Selhurst Park. Obviously, the performances of the 26-year-old player, always flirted with by the DR Congo federation, do not go unnoticed. In recent months, his name has been linked to a few clubs in Germany. Before recruiting Hugo Ekitike, Eintracht Frankfurt had tested the waters this winter. In February, the man who played for the French U19 and Espoirs team was associated with Bayer Leverkusen. There is no doubt that if he continues at this pace, other suitors will knock on his door this summer.
