Jean-Philippe Mateta will not be in the Crystal Palace squad for Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest as he nears a move away from the club.

AC Milan have emerged as frontrunners to sign the France forward, who was previously a reported target of Forest, before Monday’s deadline.

Boss Oliver Glasner said: “I can confirm JP will not be in the matchday squad.

“It’s nothing right now to do with transfers, he’s just not in the right place right now to play. To protect the team and protect him, that’s why he will not travel to Nottingham.

“The second thing to confirm is there will be no new player in the matchday squad.”

Palace have been linked with a move for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, who could be a direct replacement.

“The club is working hard, but there is no decision,” Glasner added. “To be really very clear, it can be that JP stays and is a Crystal Palace player on February 2, and it could be that JP has left the club and a new striker is in.

“For me, these are the two situations we are talking about and discussing right now.”

Dyche expects difficult end to window

Meanwhile, Forest boss Sean Dyche said he is expecting a “difficult” few days until the transfer window shuts.

Forest are looking to add a striker and a defender to their squad before Monday’s deadline.

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“We’ll see. I’ve said all along, and since I’ve been at the club, the owner’s made it clear he will support the club, but they are a trading club,” Dyche said when asked if it would be a busy few days.

“So it depends on what’s available. It depends, people can possibly be going out, but more likely looking for people to come in.

“It’s not easy. These transfer windows are really difficult and January is probably the most difficult of all.

“But we are active in certain situations, and we’ll see if we can get them over the line.”