St Etienne coach Pascal Dupraz has again declared his interest in Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.

On-loan from Mainz, Mateta is expected to eventually leave Palace for ASSE in the coming days.

Dupraz said, "We want to recruit a striker with characteristics that must match what I intend to offer.

"The more we talk about this player, the less he will come to ASSE. I can just tell you that we have him on the phone a lot.

"It is still inappropriate to say that he will join us."