Manchester United must avoid a move for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta – they should’t be fooled by his sparking form.
That’s the view of ex-Watford striker Troy Deeney, who believes the Frenchman is enjoying a purple patch in front of goal.
Mateta has been in sensational form for Palace of late – scoring eight Premier League goals from his last eight games.
It is a marked contrast from the first half of the season, where he found the back of the net just four times from Palace’s first 19 top-flight fixtures.
Mateta’s recent purple patch has reportedly left Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim impressed with what he’s seen, to the point where he could come calling for the Palace star in the summer.
However, Deeney believes it would be a foolish move from United’s end given Mateta scored only 13 goals from 83 appearances in all competitions for Palace before Oliver Glasner arrived in February last year.
When asked whether Mateta is the answer to United’s striker woes, Deeney told talkSPORT.com: “No, because he’s not the answer for Palace.
“So why is he going to be the answer for Manchester United?”
In response to being told Mateta’s form under Glasner includes 28 goals in 46 games, Deeney replied: “Did he never play before that? OK, so we take people from that small sample size and go, ‘That’s what it is?’”
Mateta’s importance to Palace aside, Deeney also held grave fears as to whether the 27-year-old could even step up to the level required of a United player.
Although the former Hornets skipper pointed out United and Palace operate with a similar formation, which could benefit Mateta, the stature of the two clubs is ‘completely different’.
“I think Jean is a very good player, by the way,” Deeney remarked.
“But he’s a very good player at Crystal Palace. I was a very good player at Watford. Going to the levels of these big clubs is completely different.
“The only thing that plays into his favour is they kind of play a similar formation with Palace at the moment, where he’s the lead one through the middle.
“But I would argue that Palace’s No. 10s are better than what Manchester United have got currently.
“So I think he’s going through a good vein of form because Palace are in a good moment. No-one was saying they should have signed him in pre-season.”
Deeney’s verdict on Mateta comes amid the prolonged struggles for United’s incumbent strikers.
Rasmus Hojlund, who was signed from Atalanta for a whopping £72million in July 2023, has not scored in his last 19 fixtures.
Since his arrival, the 22-year-old has fired in just 23 goals from 79 appearances in all competitions.
It is a goal return far below what United would have expected when they forked out the fee they did for the Dane.
Summer signing Joshua Zirkzee has also struggled to shine since he joined from Bologna.
The Dutchman has been used in a variety of positions for the Red Devils but most predominantly at centre-forward, with only six goals from 41 games to show for his efforts.
Given the pair’s goalscoring woes, United boss Amorim will be tempted to address the issue in the summer window.
Although Deeney can understand why Hojlund and Zirkzee have struggled at Old Trafford, he believes a new face up top is needed.
He stated: “You bring in someone to improve them. I think Zirkzee is more of a ten, more than a striker. At Bologna, he was a ten and on the left. People try and force him into the position.
“I think you go and get a proper No. 9 and you allow Hojlund to learn off that No. 9. Maybe someone that’s five, six years older.
“There’s a player there in Hojlund. I still think the same with Darwin Nunez. They’re both great team players that run around and do all the good stuff, they just don’t score.
“I think they need to work on that and be a bit more selfish as opposed to team-oriented, then they’ll get the goals.”
Hojlund, who has started United’s last four games, will hope to avoid extending his goal drought to a 20th game on Sunday as Amorim’s side host second-placed Arsenal.
Should United taste defeat for a 13th time in the league this term, they could find themselves as low as 16th on Monday evening should other results go against them.
