According to The Times, Juventus have had their first offer for the services of Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta rejected.

The offer the Bianconeri had made consisted of a loan deal for the rest of the season which would cost around £1.7million, with an option to make the deal permanent in the summer for an additional £24million. Palace, however, value Mateta at £35million and are unwilling to accept anything less.

Palace are in a difficult situation at the moment. They haven’t won a game in any competition for more than a month, losing or drawing a total of 10 games. Things aren’t likely to get easier this weekend, when they welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park. On top of the on-pitch problems, the Eagles have just sold captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City, and manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed he will be leaving the club at the end of the season.

Mateta has 18 months left on his contract, but he has already informed the club that he won’t be signing a new one, feeling ready to take the next step in his career. Juventus are confident that the 28-year-old France international wants to join them, but the two clubs still need to find common ground in their negotiations.