Aston Villa have reportedly been informed that a £40m bid would be accepted if they want to land Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta during the current transfer window.

Villa strengthened their Premier League title push with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Sunday, leaving Unai Emery’s side just four points behind leaders Arsenal.

The Midlands club are also sitting top of their Europa League group, meaning they look set for a busy and competitive end to the season across multiple fronts.

With that in mind, it comes as little surprise that Villa are keen to bolster their squad this month, with the signing of a new striker a key priority following the departure of Donyell Malen.

According to Football Insider, Villa are “closing in” on a move for former Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham, who is currently on loan at Besiktas.

However, the club are also monitoring Palace forward Mateta. Journalist Pete O’Rourke claims Palace would be willing to sanction a sale if a £40m offer is submitted.

“Crystal Palace are in a really tricky position at the moment with all the upheaval they’ve had in recent weeks,” O’Rourke told Football Insider.

“They’ve already rejected a loan deal with an obligation to buy from Juventus because it didn’t work for them, and now Aston Villa are exploring whether a deal could be done too.

“It would need to be a significant fee – around £40m – which reflects his current contract situation.
“Palace will try everything possible to keep hold of him and reassess things in the summer.
“It’s increasingly looking like Mateta could leave, but Palace will push hard to convince him to stay until the end of the season before allowing him to move on.
“Given everything that’s happened at the club, losing their top scorer right now is something they really can’t afford.”