Aston Villa have made a bid for wantaway Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta as they seek a replacement for Ollie Watkins, who missed Sunday’s 4-0 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion amidst doubts over his own future.

Watkins was left out of the squad for the opening Premier League game of the season after Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal have had a number of bids for the 30-year-old forward rejected in a summer that has already seen Villa lose a number of key players leaving the club.

Mateta Eyed Amid Contract War

If Watkins were to follow Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa through the exit door, the Midlands want to sign a replacement, and according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, they have made a bid for French forward Mateta, who is also facing an acrimonious situation at his own club.

The 29-year-old’s future at Crystal Palace has been the subject of some speculation in recent months, and the Frenchman looked set for a move to AC Milan in the January transfer window, but the move collapsed due to fitness concerns after his medical picked up a knee injury.

Ultimately, he remained at Selhurst Park for the remainder of the season, scoring the only goal of the game as Palace beat Rayo Vallecano in the final of the Conference League in Leipzig. However, his future took a remarkable turn over the weekend.

After starting Palace’s Premier League opener at Everton, Mateta has claimed that the final year of his Crystal Palace contract is invalid and has taken the case to FIFA. He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract in January 2022 with an option for an extra year, which Palace activated in 2024 meaning the deal runs until the end of this season.

FIFA ruled that the case is not within its jurisdiction, so the final year remains binding, but it must surely raise questions about the forward’s future with Pierre Sage’s side, and Villa look set to be the side to take advantage.

Emery Gives Cryptic Answer On Watkins’ Future

Villa boss Unai Emery was inevitably asked about the omission of Watkins in his post-match interview following the defeat at the Amex on Sunday, but he cryptically said:

“Ask him. I answer only by silence.”

Unsurprisingly, Villa do not want to lose a player who has scored 108 goals in 207 games since moving to the Midlands from Brentford in 2020. He was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2023-24 and has become their all-time top scorer in both the Premier League and Europe.

The club have already seen the Europa League-winning squad torn up this summer with Ezri Konsa’s departure to Arsenal last week following Youri Tielemans joining Manchester United, Morgan Rogers moving to Chelsea and Lucas Digne returning to Paris Saint-Germain.

Is Mateta The Answer For Villa?

When any club loses a key striker, the big question is whether they can replace the goals. It was certainly a question asked of Fulham when losing both Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez to Leeds and Wolves respectively this summer.

So should Mateta prove to be Watkins’ replacement at Villa, would he be able to fill the void up front? The stats suggest not. Both players joined their respective sides in the summer of 2020, and in terms of both appearances and goals, Watkins tops Mateta in every single season.

After only managing eight Premier League goals in his first three seasons, Mateta has managed 16, 14 and 12 in his last three. Overall he has managed 50 goals in 162 Premier League games in London, with 62 goals in 203 games in all competitions.

By contrast, Sunday was only the eighth top-flight game Watkins has missed while in the Midlands, netting double figures in each campaign, with 19 in 2023-24 being his best. In all competitions, he has scored 108 in 278 games.