Man Utd learn asking price of Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta | OneFootball

Manchester United will have to stump up £40m if they want to sign Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, according to reports.

The Frenchman has emerged as a transfer target for the 13-time Premier League winners after another fine season for Palace, who continued their recent run of fine form with a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Mateta was absent for the game as he continues to recover from a nasty head injury that required 25 stitches, but his return of 12 Premier League goals in 27 appearances has already caught the eye of United's scouts.

United have been wildly inconsistent in what's turned out to be a dreadful 2024/25 campaign, with Ruben Amorim unable to reverse the slide first experienced under the management of Erik ten Hag. The Red Devils currently sit 15th in the Premier League table and have a huge job on their hands just to finish inside the top half.

The Mirror state that United have been told they will need to front up £40m to have any chance of landing 27-year-old Mateta, who has scored more than twice the amount of Premier League goals than Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee combined.

Rasmus Hojlund is really struggling at Manchester United / Carl Recine/GettyImages

Even that amount of money could prove to be problematic for United, who are budgeting for an extended absence from the Champions League and are shedding staff in a bid to cut spiralling costs. It's been well documented that United will need to sell to buy this summer, to comply with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules and to allow them to reinvest money into off-field matters.

United have struggled all over the pitch this season but their inability to regularly find the back of the net has been most concerning. They have scored just 33 Premier League goals in 27 games – 36 less than leaders Liverpool and 20 less than Spurs, who sit two places above them in the table.

Hojlund is woefully short of confidence – the Dane is on a run of 18 games without a goal – and Zirkzee's goal threat has diminished after starting to play in a deeper role for Amorim. Bruno Fernandes has tried to chip in where he can, but even he has just six Premier League goals from 26 outings. Alejandro Garnacho, meanwhile, has gone 21 matches without finding the back of the net.

Mateta's confidence, meanwhile, is sky high after a purple patch of form. He even scored a match-winning brace for Palace at Old Trafford in early February, having also netted twice at West Ham United two weeks prior.