Reports in Italy are now claiming that Crystal Palace are trying to beat Juventus to the signing of Mateo Pellegrino from Parma.
Doubts remain over Jean-Philippe Mateta in SE25 as the Daily Mail state the Frenchman’s representatives want to arrange a move away from Selhurst Park this summer, leaving Crystal Palace searching for other strikers who could replace the France international.
Gianluigi Longari has now told Sport Italia that Crystal Palace have made an approach to sign Pellegrino, but who is the Parma star?
What would YOU do with Mateta? 🇫🇷
Crystal Palace chasing a “complete forward” in Mateo Pellegrino
The Argentine only arrived at Parma in February 2025 – sealing a €1.6m (£1.4m) move from Velez Sarsfield – and scored three goals in his first 13 appearances in Serie A in the second half of that 2024/25 campaign.
Pellegrino then came to life last season in his first full campaign with Parma, netting 12 goals in 39 games across all competitions to catch the eye of Juventus.
The aforementioned Longari states that Juventus are pushing hard to sign the Parma No.9 but are struggling with the structure of the deal.
Crystal Palace have made an attempt to hijack the move, but the respected journalist says Pellegrino prefers Juventus at this moment in time.
Discussing his own playing style upon sealing a move to Italy, the Valencia-born striker told the official Parma Calcio 1913 website: “I consider myself a complete forward. I can score with my left, my right and my head. I can offer a lot of physical strength, effort and goals… I love to make the most of every opportunity and I will be ready to play when the manager decides.
“It was easy to settle in. First of all because I speak four languages (Spanish, Italian, English and French) and, therefore, I can communicate with all my teammates. I consider myself mature and professional for my age, thanks to my family’s upbringing. I think being mature and professional is one of my main characteristics, especially when I have to make decisions.”
While Pellegrino seems to be a talented player, we are unsure where he would fit in even if Mateta did leave Crystal Palace.
The 24-year-old is not a versatile option and can only play as a striker.
Considering Pierre Sage only has one slot for a frontman in his preferred 3-4-3 formation, which Mateta and Jorgen Strand Larsen are already competing for, not to mention Eddie Nketiah too, we can spend the £26m fee needed to sign Pellegrino more sensibly.
- Full name: Mateo Pellegrino Casalanguila
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 22 October 2001
- Height: 1.92m (6ft 4in)
- Nationality: Argentine
- Place of birth: Valencia
- Club: Parma
- Position: Striker
Who is your DREAM signing? ⭐️
