Aston Villa's offer for the 29-year-old fell below Palace's valuation, and it remains unclear at this stage whether the Midlands club will return with a second approach. Mateta is being lined up by Villa as a potential replacement for Ollie Watkins, who is attracting strong interest from Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal and was left out of Villa's matchday squad for Sunday's 4-0 defeat by Brighton, with manager Unai Emery suggesting only Watkins himself could explain his absence.
Mateta is facing a conflict of his own at Selhurst Park after it emerged this week that he took Crystal Palace to a Premier League tribunal last season, arguing that the final 12 months of his contract were legally invalid, before escalating the matter to FIFA.
Although the tribunal's ruling has not been made public, it is understood Mateta was told his contract — which runs until the summer of 2027 — remains binding, and FIFA subsequently ruled it did not have jurisdiction over the dispute. The episode has left Mateta's Palace future in doubt, with Villa stepping up their interest as a result.
The striker came close to leaving Selhurst Park in January, only for a failed medical to scupper a proposed £30million move to AC Milan.
After opting against surgery on the knee injury that ended that switch, Mateta returned to full fitness and wrote his name into Palace folklore by scoring the winning goal in the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig in May.
Palace's transfer business is not limited to farewells. The club have also opened talks to sign Marseille and Netherlands midfielder Quinten Timber, the twin brother of Arsenal full-back Jurrien Timber, according to L'Équipe.
The 25-year-old has been one of Marseille's standout performers in recent seasons and has attracted interest from several clubs, with Palace understood to have made direct contact with both Marseille and Timber's representatives to gauge his willingness to move to the Premier League.
It remains unclear exactly how Marseille value Timber, though L'Équipe reports a figure in the region of £17million, with the midfielder said to be "high up" on Palace's list of targets.
Timber made 16 appearances for Marseille last season after arriving from Feyenoord in the January window on a cut-price deal worth around €4.5million, and would offer Pierre Sage a fresh option in central midfield as Palace continue reshaping their squad following Oliver Glasner's departure.