Aston Villa have made an offer for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.The proposal fell considerably short of Palace’s valuation of the player, with the club expecting a much higher offer for the France international in order to sanction his departure.Villa who have been in the market for attacking reinforcements with Ollie Watkins’ future at the club unclear and both Tammy Abraham and Brian Madjo sidelined with injury, have also made an indicative offer for AC Milan forward Rafael Leao, while Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson has also been a target. Villa also considered making a move for Mateta back in January.Watkins has made his desire to leave the club clear, with Villa rejecting four bids from Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal for the striker, the most recent of which was worth £45million.The Athletic reported on Sunday that Mateta was in dispute with Palace over the final year of his contract, which is set to expire next summer, with Palace activating an option to extend his deal by a further year last December.Mateta took his case to the Premier League, arguing that the contract was not valid. While the outcome was not made public, sources briefed on the case, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, told The Athletic an independent tribunal determined earlier this year that the contract did in fact remain valid.The 29-year-old came close to leaving the club in the winter window, with Italian side Milan set to sign him before pulling out of the €30m due to concerns over a knee injury.Mateta was subsequently reintegrated into the Palace squad after the window and went on to score the winning goal in Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in May as the south London club won their first European trophy. He made 50 appearances last season for Palace in all competitions, scoring 16 goals.Villa have undergone a summer of significant change with Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Ezri Konsa and Lucas Digne all departing Unai Emery’s squad, while the futures of Emiliano Martinez and Watkins are also uncertain. Neither featured in Sunday’s opening-day four-goal loss at Brighton & Hove Albion, with Watkins later apologising to his team-mates for missing the game.The club have added six players to Emery’s first-team squad, with goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, left-back Matteo Ruggeri and midfielders Joao Gomes and Johan Manzambi all joining on permanent deals, with right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and forward Alejandro Garnacho also arriving on loans.Aug 25, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms