Summary
Crystal Palace are close to signing a 'special talent' in Flamengo midfielder Matheus Franca who could help to replenish the creativity void left by club legend Wilfried Zaha, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
Is Matheus Franca joining Crystal Palace?
As per The Guardian, Crystal Palace are set to bring in Matheus from Flamengo this summer in a transfer that could be worth up to in the region of £26 million. His deal will include a special Ballon d’Or clause and also carry a 20% sell-on fee for Flamengo if Crystal Palace sell the star for more than the fee they paid up front for him in the future.
Chelsea and Newcastle United had also expressed interest in the 19-year-old; however, Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman is believed to have played an 'instrumental role' in getting a deal over the line to acquire Franca, who was the Eagles' main target following the departure of Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray.
Franca will join Crystal Palace as their second addition of the window following the arrival of Jefferson Lerma from Bournemouth on a free transfer, as per BBC Sport.
In his time at Flamengo, Franca made 54 appearances in total for the South American giants and managed to get on the scoresheet nine times, as per Transfermarkt.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has let slip some details of the Franca transfer on Twitter X, stating: "Matheus França, in UK today in order to undergo medical as new Crystal Palace player. €20m fixed fee to Flamengo. €5m easy add-ons, up to €25m. €5m extra add-ons only in case of Matheus winning Ballon d’Or. 20% on future sale [after €25m initial value]."
Speaking to Football FanCast, transfer insider Jones thinks that Crystal Palace have done 'extremely well' to convince Franca his future lies at Selhurst Park.
Jones stated: "As soon as it was clear Zaha was not going to take up the huge offer they had made to him, I think this one had increased urgency and importance and we are now at the point where Palace expect to close the deal, from what sources are telling me.
"It’s difficult to explain just how highly thought of this player is, but the fact he has a Ballon d’Or clause in his contract shows you he’s a special talent.
"Obviously, there were bigger clubs looking at him, but for this stage of his career, Palace is a great stepping stone and they have done extremely well to convince him of the move."
What now for Crystal Palace?
Crystal Palace finally look to have got the ball rolling with regards to their summer transfer activity and could be set to complete more deals over the coming weeks.
Nevertheless, the Eagles could be usurped by Fulham in their attempts to sign Everton winger Demarai Gray, following news that the Toffees have reportedly agreed a deal to sell Gray to Marco Silva's men if they can find a replacement first, according to talkSPORT.
In other news, Crystal Palace are willing to offer winger Michael Olise a contract worth in excess of £100,000 per week as they aim to fend off interest from Manchester City in the France youth international, as per Football Insider.
Joachim Andersen has also offered encouragement that he could stay at Selhurst Park despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United after he spoke about his aims for the upcoming campaign in an interview cited by The Evening Standard, as he said: “Hopefully we can do better than last year. We want to finish in the top ten this year, so it will be a good ambition to try to do that. The last part of last season was good, so hopefully we can continue that kind of spirit and those kinds of results, and in the end we will do something good.”