Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jorgen Strand Larsen find themselves in an awkward situation at Crystal Palace.
£48m was spent to sign Larsen from Wolves in February as Mateta headed to AC Milan in a £30m deal, only for the Frenchman to fail his medical and return to Selhurst Park with his tail between his legs.
At the time, it felt as if Mateta would never play for Crystal Palace again as Larsen initially seized his spot, but Oliver Glasner has continued to trust the France international, even starting him in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League semi-final against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Crystal Palace No.14 has now spoken to L’Equipe about his unique battle with the former Celta Vigo striker, claiming that the pair are “working with” each other and the competition is not a “bad thing”.
Who is your DREAM signing? ⭐️
Jean-Philippe Mateta relishing Jorgen Strand Larsen competition
Mateta told the French news outlet: “I don’t think I’m the first to fail my medical, and I won’t be the last. The players know me, and so does the coach.
“They know that when I’m in the dressing room, I’m 100% there to win. Another striker arrived in the meantime. I’m working with him, and it’s not a bad thing to rotate. I’m not lacking match fitness.”
There have been some interesting moments since Larsen joined Mateta – who is targeting a World Cup spot with France – in SE25.
The Norway international seemed quite frustrated upon being substituted in the recent 2-1 win over Newcastle, a game he started, but had to play alongside Brennan Johnson while relying on Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma to feed him.
In contrast, Mateta came on alongside Ismaila Sarr and Adam Wharton, going on to score twice thanks to the added creativity and help the Eagles overturn a 1-0 deficit.
As aforesaid, Larsen was then benched for the hugely significant clash against Shakhtar Donetsk in Poland, but still came on to score a delightful third goal and give Crystal Palace a 3-1 lead to take back to SE25.
Who deserves to take the crown from Daniel Munoz? 👑
The Norwegian wouldn’t have been expecting this battle upon joining Crystal Palace from Wolves, and it will be very interesting to see who gets the nod from Glasner should the Eagles reach the final of the UEFA Conference League in Leipzig.
