Newcastle United are joined by a host of Premier League outfits for the signing of 20-year-old Lyon forward, Jean-Philippe Mateta. The striker has impressed during his loan spell away to Ligue 2 side, Le Havre with 19 goals in 37 appearances last season. He is due to return to the Groupama Stadium by the end of June but still might not be guaranteed a starting berth in the Lyon first team.
Les Gones already have Mariano Diaz and Bertrand Traore in the side along with youngsters like Amine Gouri and Myziane Maolida. The side finished in the third spot of the Ligue 1 last term and is being led by Bruno Genesio.
Mateta made his professional debut with Lyon but has managed only 2 senior team performances since his signing in the summer of 2016. He appeared in 15 league games for the club’s B side but otherwise was mostly a squad filler.
The 20-year-old started out his career in the French second division with LB Châteauroux where he scored 11 in 19 senior team appearances. Mateta is still in the midst of a development process but has shown signs of early promise.
With 3 caps to his name for the France U19 side, the forward could break out into the scene if given the chance to prove himself. Currently, the grass seems greener across the channel and in Tyneside, under a Rafael Benitez management.
Newcastle United are looking for new strikers to add to the squad and Mateta is expected to get a fair shot at first-team selection. The Magpies have been left disappointed with the scoring troubles of their starting number nine, Dwight Gayle.
The 27-year-old managed just 5 goals last season after helping the side win back promotion to the Premier League. If it were not for Ayoze Perez filling in from the shadow striker role, Benitez could have been in trouble to finish in the safety spots the last term.
The Spaniard remarkably guided the team to a 10th place finish in the 2017/18 campaign. His January signing of Islam Slimani came little to no use with the striker glued to the sidelines with injury and banned from the pitch when healthy.
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Standing 6 feet 3 inches tall, Mateta has the physical attributes to break into the United first team but will understandably have to hit the ground running on his arrival.
