Aston Villa have reportedly had their first approach for Jean-Philippe Mateta rebuffed by Crystal Palace.
Both Villa and Palace are having issues with want-away strikers this summer. For the Villans, Ollie Watkins was absent for the 4-0 drubbing by Brighton & Hove Albion last time out while Mateta is currently involved in a dispute over his contract with the Eagles.
One solution for Palace could be to sell the Frenchman but according to journalist David Ornstein of The Athletic, they had turned down an initial approach from Villa which was 'considerably' short of the London club's valuation.
Mateta almost left Palace midway through last season before a move to AC Milan collapsed over concerns of a knee injury.
However, both with the transfer away in January and the contract dispute ongoing now, Mateta continues to feature on the field for the Eagles, with the 29-year-old starting in Palace's 2-0 defeat away to Everton on Saturday.
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