Jean-Philippe Mateta returns for FA Cup clash – as the Crystal Palace striker is set to be a hot property in this summer’s transfer market

Jean-Philippe Mateta will return for Crystal Palace tomorrow when they take on Premier League rivals Fulham for a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Mateta, 27, missed out on Palace’s last Premier League clash – a 1-0 win over Ipswich – after needing 25 stitches to a severe laceration to his ear following a horrific challenge from Millwall keeper Liam Roberts in their last FA Cup round.

He returned to individual training during Palace’s mid-week training camp in Marbella and will be wearing a protective mask while the stitches continue to heal completely.

The striker’s availability will be a huge boost to boss Oliver Glasner, with the Eagles looking to progress past the last eight of the competition for the third time in 10 years.

But while his immediate focus will be on ending the season strongly with Crystal Palace and to his 15 goals already this campaign – there is a long-standing desire for the Frenchman to represent his country at senior international level.

Our paper understands that Mateta has repeatedly turned down approaches from the Federation of the DR Congo, for whom he is eligible to play through his parents, due to his yearning to play for France.

He represented the country of his birth at last summer’s Olympic Games, playing a crucial role and scoring five goals as he fired Thierry Henry’s side to a silver medal.

However, despite establishing himself as one of the most consistent strikers in the Premier League, he has still been overlooked by the senior squad under boss Didier Deschamps.

The ex-Juventus and Chelsea midfielder has a plethora of world-class attacking talent to pick from when selecting his 25-player squad, stretching from Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe to PSG’s Ousmane Dembele – two players who are featuring at the top of the game in their respective leagues and Champions League stage.

Deschamps has also promoted Desire Doue, 19, and Bradley Barcola, 22, to the senior side.

Former Palace attacker Michael Olise has also been a regular fixture in the France squad since he made the £50million switch to Bayern Munich in the summer.

Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku, Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram and Juventus’ Randal Kolo Muani are also currently ahead of Mateta in the pecking order.

So, where does this leave the Crystal Palace striker?

He will be a hot property in this summer’s transfer market as he enters the final two years of his deal at Selhurst Park.

There were talks over the summer about extending Mateta’s deal and handing him a pay rise in line with some of the club’s highest earners.

However, the deal would have taken the forward into his 30s and in the final year of a new extension before he reached the £100,000 a week mark that the likes of Dean Henderson and Eberechi Eze are on.

Palace chose to walk away from talks and handed summer signings Daichi Kamada and Eddie Nketiah both deals which see the duo land close to six figures a week.

The South Londoners made the decision to trigger his one-year extension in December to ensure Mateta did not enter the final year of his deal this summer.

But he has also been at Selhurst Park since January 2021, racking up 139 appearances and becoming the club’s second-highest Premier League goalscorer, with a sense developing that it could be now or never should Mateta make the move to one of Europe’s elite sides.

Manchester United have shown interest in the former Mainz striker ahead of the summer, and other sides playing European football across the continent have also added Mateta to their watch list.

Palace’s 1-0 home win against Ipswich – the game Mateta missed due to his ear injury – highlighted how much his absence was noted with Eddie Nketiah leading the line.

While the former Arsenal striker has netted four goals since making the £30million switch to South London, his performance against the Tractor Boys showed Palace missed Mateta’s physicality and ability to be a focal point in the side.

Mateta produced an important display in Palace’s last outing against Fulham, winding up former team-mate Joachim Andersen before he scored an own goal to give Glasner’s side the lead.

He also drove forward on a counter-attacking situation to play through Daniel Munoz for Palace’s second in a 2-0 win.

Mateta played in an in-house friendly for the Eagles on Saturday and scored twice in a 3-1 win. He announced his comeback on Instagram on Monday morning and will play with his face mask to keep his ear protected against the Cottagers.

The former Lyon and Le Harve forward will be hoping he can have his name across the back pages on Sunday morning for his goalscoring exploits this time around as he looks to book Palace a place in the last four.

PICTURE: ALAMY