Jean-Philippe Mateta's move to AC Milan from Crystal Palace dramatically collapses in final hours of transfer deadline day

Mateta was close to moving to Milan, with the Serie A club reaching a preliminary agreement with Palace over the weekend. That came as something of a hijack, as Nottingham Forest had also been attempting to sign the France international. Now, though, the deal has fallen through, per Sky, with Milan opting against continuing after running medical checks on the striker. 

This is despite the fact that Palace manager Oliver Glasner opted against selecting Mateta at the weekend, insisting he was not in the right frame of mind. 

He said: "It is nothing to do right now with the transfers. He is not in the [right] place. To play makes no sense. 

“We have to protect the team and I have to protect him. That is why he will not travel with us to Nottingham.”

He added: "Again, there is so much noise, so much speculation, so many things going on. We need every single player at their best and JP [Mateta] isn't at his best right now with all the noise that happens.

"It can be football noise, but if someone has private issues where they can't focus on football, then it makes no sense to play. He can't help the team and perform at his top level. We decided it is better not to play him."

Mateta has been playing regularly for Palace this season and has made 23 Premier League appearances, scoring eight goals. He played 85 minutes against Chelsea in the fixture prior to the most recent weekend, but Sacha Tavolieri reports that Mateta's medical showed up an issue that will require surgery to fix, and could lead to the striker being out for as many as four months.

Palace have also been linked with Jorgen Strand Larsen of Wolves, and have bid for the striker, but it is unclear if his future will be affected by the collapse of Mateta's move. 

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Mateta has revealed his dream of playing in the World Cup, which may well see him put off surgery until after the tournament. 

He told Palace's website: “I'm very proud of myself. I'm very happy, and I think I deserve it, because I train very hard, with the gaffer [Oliver Glasner] as well and all the team. It's a dream come true, and I hope I will get called up again.

“It's my dream too, to go to the World Cup. I will do everything to go there. But first, you have to do a good job with Crystal Palace – every day, every game.

“I'm a very ambitious guy, and when I think about something, I try to do everything to make it come true.”

Mateta has also credited Oliver Glasner with his transformation, adding: “I think it's on him. He used to train in Germany, and when he came in, [in terms of] how we need to play I think I understood, because I'm from the German league too.

“I think it's because I play many games in the role. I think that's why people say I'm improving my hold-up play – because I know it very well now.

“I train hard every day, and I want to play every game and show him I'm ready for him, for the team, for the staff. I show them that I want to play every game.

“I think it's not only me personally, but we have a fantastic team that believes in everyone. We're just training very hard and believing in ourselves, and on the pitch we’ve had the results.

“I hope we will keep thinking the same and keep working hard.”

Milan play Bologna on Tuesday, while Palace play Brighton on Sunday in one of the most confusing derbies in English football.