Aston Villa may have been the busiest Premier League team this summer transfer window, with Unai Emery's side already acquiring Ross Barkley, Enzo Barrenechea, Lewis Dobbin, Samuel Iling-Junior, Jaden Philogene, Ian Maatsen, and Amadou Onana.
According to Transfermarkt, Villa have spent €176.2m (around £150m) so far this window and could be set to spend even more, with rumours continuing to circulate, linking them to another striker, especially if Jhon Duran leaves the club.
Sales of Moussa Diaby, Douglas Luiz, Tim Iroebunam, Morgan Sanson and Viljami Sinisalo have netted Villa €127.4m on sales (around £107m) according to Transfermarkt, and any sale of Duran would bring in another heap of money, with his valuation being set at around £40m.
Aston Villa transfer news
According to reports from The Standard, Aston Villa have made contact with Crystal Palace over striker, Jean-Philippe Mateta. However, Palace are insisting the Frenchman is not for sale, whilst potential new contract talks are beginning to "rumble".
The report suggests Palace were willing to listen to offers for Mateta in January. However, that stance has now changed, with new manager Oliver Glasner showing a liking to the striker since he joined the club.
Mateta made 39 appearances in all competitions for the Eagles last season, scoring 19 goals, providing five assists, and totalling 2,574 minutes of football played.
Mateta vs Watkins comparison
Mateta, hailed as a striker who "scores all types of goals" by writer Frankie Maguire, showed last season his ability to be one of the top scorers in the Premier League. FBref's "similar players" feature has even compared him to one of the league's other top scorers, Ollie Watkins.
Watkins made 53 appearances for Villa last season in all competitions, scoring 27 goals, providing 13 assists, and totalling 4,323 minutes of football, as an ever-present part of the team. The 28-year-old spearheaded Villa to their first Champions League qualification since the 1982/83 season.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Mateta
Watkins
Non-Penalty Goals
0.55
0.53
Assists
0.20
0.36
Shots Total
1.74
2.99
Shots on Target %
56.8%
43.9%
Goals/Shot
0.32
0.18
Goals – xG
+0.20
+0.06
Progressive Carries
1.14
1.73
Successful Take-Ons
0.99
0.73
Aerials Won
1.97
1.37
Mateta's metrics show he is a more clinical finisher than Watkins, taking fewer shots per 90 with 1.74, and scoring more Non-Penalty Goals per 90 with 0.55 – 0.02 more than Watkins manages. The French striker has a better shots on target percentage too, getting 56.8% of his shots on target per 90, compared to only 43.9% for Watkins.
This tells you Watkins is a higher volume shooter, which we can also tell from his total shots per 90, and is willing to take on typically more difficult shots. Mateta scores at a higher rate, scoring 0.32 goals/shot per 90, compared to Watkins' 0.18.
If Duran leaves Villa, Mateta could come in and offer them a more efficient goal scorer than Watkins, either pushing the England international to take another step up, or even providing the option of playing both of them up top together.
All of this, whilst offering better value for money too, as Mateta, according to Capology, only earns £50k-per-week at Palace, compared to the £130k-per-week Watkins is earning at Villa.
If the Olympic star can get anywhere close to matching the levels of the current Villa marksman, then Emery would be in for a treat.
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