Crystal Palace have completed a club-record £48m signing of Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, although a late move for Everton winger Dwight McNeil collapsed on deadline day.
Palace have paid a fixed fee of £43m for Strand Larsen, with a further £5m in potential add-ons. The Norwegian leaves Wolves after 18 months; he scored 14 Premier League goals last season as Wolves stayed up under Vitor Pereira but has managed just one so far this term. Palace have now broken their transfer record twice this window, after also signing Brennan Johnson from Tottenham.
The deal for Strand Larsen went ahead despite Jean-Philippe Mateta’s proposed move from Palace to AC Milan collapsing on Deadline Day following further medical checks. Mateta will remain a Crystal Palace player and will link up with Strand Larsen at Selhurst Park.
Palace also had a loan bid for Everton’s Dwight McNeil accepted before the deadline, with the loan including an obligation to buy for £20m in the summer if conditions were met. Sky Sports News understands paperwork to complete the deal was not submitted in time after the window closed, so the transfer fell through.
Jamie Carragher on Strand Larsen:
“I think Strand Larsen is a good player, hence why there’s been so much interest in him. People are not buying him based on this season’s performances — he’s playing for a really poor team and hasn’t played a lot lately. The club wanted to move him on and bring some money in. I watched him last season and he looked like not a real top striker but certainly a striker you wouldn’t associate with playing at the bottom. He can definitely play for a team in the middle of the league. The big thing that stands out from last season is the goals — non-penalty goals. To score 14 goals with no penalties — that takes some going. If Strand Larsen comes in, I think Mateta will be on the bench. I don’t think Crystal Palace are the type of team that play with two strikers. They like those two number 10s, a big part of their system. It would be interesting to see the two going at it. They would be a handful. Mateta, for how much of a handful he is, his hold-up is absolutely fantastic; he does miss a lot of big chances.”
Sky Sports News’ James Savundra on Mateta:
“Jean-Philippe Mateta was looking for a new challenge in this transfer window. His new challenge will be reintegrating into the Crystal Palace squad. He will not be leaving Palace on Deadline Day. AC Milan were deliberating whether to proceed with the deal but, following medical tests, they decided against it. He wanted to be rewarded for his performances at Palace over the last two seasons — where only Erling Haaland has scored more than him — but he is set to remain. Contract negotiations are not ongoing; he has around 18 months left on his contract.”