Jean-Philippe Mateta has lost two separate attempts to have the final year of his Crystal Palace contract declared invalid, after taking his case to an independent Premier League tribunal and to Fifa. The France striker, who has been pushing to leave Selhurst Park, disputed whether the club had validly triggered a 12-month extension option; both bodies rejected his claim, with Fifa ruling it lacked jurisdiction, leaving Palace insisting the deal remains binding.

Mateta joined Palace permanently from Mainz in January 2022 on a four-and-a-half-year deal with an extension option, which Palace activated in 2024, pushing his expiry to the end of this season. He played in Saturday's defeat at Everton despite the dispute, and is reportedly attracting interest from Aston Villa, who may sell Ollie Watkins to Al-Hilal. A move to Milan collapsed in January after he failed a medical over a knee problem, following which he helped Palace win the Conference League; he faces a potentially frosty reception when Manchester City visit on Friday. Separately, manager Pierre Sage said Ismaïla Sarr, subject of Galatasaray interest, will stay at the club, while Palace also face fresh transfer interest in Adam Wharton and Daniel Muñoz and an injury scare over Chadi Riad.