Man United ‘eye audacious summer move for Crystal Palace star’- as top target Viktor Gyokeres ‘cools on Old Trafford transfer’, with the club unlikely to qualify for Champions League

Manchester United are monitoring Crystal Palace forward Jean-Phillippe Mateta, according to a report.

The Frenchman has been in inspired form for the Eagles this season, scoring 15 goals in 33 matches in all competitions. Mateta’s emergence has coincided with the arrival of Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park. 

Under the Austrian, Mateta has established himself as one of the premier attackers in the division, though he is now set for a spell on the sidelines after being the victim of a horror tackle by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts on Saturday.

With a speedy recovery expected, a report in The Sun claims that the Red Devils are eyeing a summer swoop and have been monitoring the striker’s progress in south London. 

United have struggled for goals this season under Ruben Amorim, managing just 45 in 24 matches under the Portuguese. 

Rasmus Hojlund, who joined the club for £72million in 2023, is currently on an 18-game scoreless run. He has found the net only twice in 22 Premier League games this term. 

The 27-year-old has been in a rich vein of form for Oliver Glasner’s resurgent outfit

Ruben Amorim’s side have struggled to score goals consistently since his appointment in November

United’s top target Viktor Gyokeres is reportedly cooling on a move to Old Trafford, with the club increasingly unlikely to qualify for the Champions League

According to the report, Mateta’s last three matches have been watched by United scouts, with the Frenchman quickly becoming the club’s top priority amid uncertainty over the capture of Viktor Gyokeres. 

The Swede has been linked heavily with a move to Old Trafford that would see him reunited with his former Sporting Lisbon boss. However, with United unlikely to qualify for the Champions League, it may be hard to convince the prolific striker to join. 

Amorim leapt to the defence of Hojlund amid their ongoing woes in front of goal, and insisted that his barren spell was explained by the team’s failure to create chances. 

‘I think it’s clear, we as a team aren’t helping Rasmus,’ Amorim said. ‘We don’t create a lot of chances. We have a lack of threat and you can feel it in the games. 

‘Sometimes we are in the final third but you don’t feel like we are a very dangerous team and you feel it also when we’re defending low and sometimes the opponent is not afraid of transitions. So I have this feeling also as a coach that we are not helping the strikers.’ 

United take on Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday night. The competition provides the last realistic route for the club to qualify for European football next term.