How Jean-Philippe Mateta became Patrick Vieira's first choice striker at Crystal Palace

It’s been quite the rollercoaster for Jean-Philippe Mateta since he arrived on English soil last year.

The Frenchman joined Crystal Palace on an 18-month loan deal from Mainz in January 2021 and quickly made a name for himself by scoring his first goal in a famous away win against rivals Brighton & Hove Albion. That remained his only goal for the club for quite some time and, partnered with a lack of appearances during the first half of the current season, it seemed likely that the striker would be quietly moved on by the end of the campaign.

Fast forward to today though and Mateta has signed a permanent contract that will keep him at Selhurst Park until June 2026 and he just scored an important goal against Everton to help book Palace a spot in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley next month. On top of that, he’s kicked corner flags at The Den, Vicarage Road, Molineux and Selhurst Park. A very promising return considering he was afforded just 61 minutes of Premier League football from the opening 17 games of the season.

So what changed? Palace currently have the experienced Christian Benteke and expensive summer signing Odsonne Edouard sat on the bench while Mateta enjoys his time in the sunshine. Patrick Vieira has said he chooses his striker based on performances in training as well as what style will suit the opposition best though it’s clear that Mateta is the first choice by a stretch right now.

Drafted into the team while the squad suffered from injury and Covid-19 problems, the towering forward scored his first goal of the season in December on what was just his second league start of the campaign. Since then, Vieira has rarely looked back - Mateta has featured in each of Palace’s last 16 fixtures across all