Crystal Palace news: Edu Rubio on Jean-Philippe Mateta

Former West Ham, Wolves and Crystal Palace coach Edu Rubio on Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta:

“I didn’t work with him; I missed him. I left Palace before he arrived. He is a great player and a very well-liked character, from what my friends there say.

“His uniqueness is that he can be used as a target man to bring the ball down after a long ball, and also a player who can combine and link up play in the opposition’s half.

“Mateta has helped Palace tremendously in counters by always finding the ball, bringing it down and finding the right set or forward pass to keep the momentum of the attack.

“He can score from long range, from inside the box and in set-pieces, so he is a good attacking weapon to have, especially for a team playing with only one striker on the pitch.

“He can sometimes lose concentration in the high press, despite his application.

“As he will do next season, he can definitely play in a team playing in Europe, and he can do that consistently in the next few years.”