Crystal Palace strengthened their strike-force by completing the signing of Jean-Philippe Mateta on Thursday.
The striker arrived at Selhurst Park on an 18-month loan deal from FSV Mainz and the Eagles retain an ‘option to make the move permanent’.
Bild in Germany provides details of the deal agreed between the two clubs for the 23-year-old’s transfer.
It’s claimed the London club will pay the Bundesliga side a loan fee of €3.5m to the keep the Frenchman until the end of next season.
According to Bild, Roy Hodgson’s side have to ‘buy the striker’, meaning they will have to make his transfer permanent in 2022.
As per the report, the fee is set for a figure between €14m and €17m, depending on the ‘sporting success’.
Bild state the ‘purchase option’ agreed between the two sides will not become a ‘purchase obligation’ only on one condition and that’s if Mateta is ‘rarely used’ in the Premier League. Otherwise, Palace have an obligation to convert his loan move into a permanent transfer.
The German newspaper state talks ‘lasted well past midnight’, and it would appear Mainz want to present themselves as the winner in negotiations and tell their local media that there’s a buying obligation.
Regardless of what they say, and what Bild relay, the fact that the clause is clearly based on games played means it’s still in Crystal Palace’s hands, so both clubs can present themselves as the winner.
