Crystal Palace pulled off a bargain deal to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta

The finances behind Crystal Palace’s deal to sign striker Jean-Philippe Mateta from Mainz 05 could prove to be ‘a snip’, according to journalist Tom Barclay.

Mateta made his move permanent on Deadline Day in the January transfer window after a fairly successful 12-month loan spell with the south London outfit.

According to Sky Sports, Palace stumped up a £9 million fee to secure the services of Mateta on a four-and-a-half-year deal last month.

Previous reports had claimed that the 6 foot 3 beast would be allowed to cut his time at Selhurst Park short during the winter window after struggling to break into the starting XI on a regular basis.

However, The Sun then claimed that Palace boss Patrick Vieira was set to block Mateta’s proposed move to Ligue 1 strugglers Saint-Etienne until he could find a suitable replacement.

Eddie Nketiah has been on Vieira’s radar since his arrival at the capital club last summer and saw another two bids turned down for the 22-year-old by Arsenal in the winter window.

As a result, Palace decided to sign Mateta on a long-term basis instead, ensuring they have enough firepower to see out the season and continue their progress on the pitch.

The former France Under-21 international initially struggled to settle in the Premier League, scoring just one goal in his first 10 appearances in the top-flight.

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But Mateta has started to show glimpses of his true potential in recent weeks, notching up three goal contributions in his last eight outings in all competitions.

Therefore, Barclay has told GiveMeSport that he believes Palace may have secured themselves a bargain.

He said to GMS: “I think they looked at it, and because they got him