Crystal Palace have completed the loan signing of highly-rated Jean-Philippe Mateta from Bundesliga side Mainz, and now it appears Palace will look to sell one of their strikers, Christian Benteke, to recoup some of the costs.

However, perhaps they should look to offload the linked-away Connor Wickham instead of the big Belgian.

What's the word?

According to The Daily Mail, Mateta's arrival could see Benteke head for the Selhurst Park exit having struggled for goals so far this season.

Benteke was linked to another Premier League switch last summer, as Tottenham attempted to find a backup option for Harry Kane. But Spurs ultimately backed out of a bid for the player.

West Brom have also been cited with previous interest in the Belgian striker, with the West Midlands outfit linked with a move for the forward in 2016, when he was at Liverpool.

Get rid of Connor Wickham instead

But if you look at their squad and Benteke's contributions during his Selhurst Park stint, however, he has proven to be a useful asset for Roy Hodgson's side, which is precisely why Steve Parish should be reluctant to let him go.

Whilst his levels of attacking output has somewhat dipped since the 30-year-old scored 15 goals in a total of 36 games in the Premier League, he has still shown glimpses of his past form.

After all, he's currently averaging more shots per game than Jordan Ayew, Michy Batshuayi and Connor Wickham this season so far, per WhoScored.

Evidently, there's still life in the £8m-rated ace yet, and considering how short Palace are on options upfront, losing an experienced striker like Benteke could prove costly for the rest of the campaign. He's already scored the same amount of goals this season he managed in the past two combined, via WhoScored.

Of course, Palace have already brought in Mateta, but should he succumb to injury, Hodgson may be left to rue his slim pickings at the top of the pitch.

Looking at it from Palace's point of view, getting rid of the injury-stricken 27-year-old may be a better option, although finding any potential suitors will be no easy task in light of his latest setback.

However, if Benteke departs Selhurst Park, Parish should be held accountable for his inexcusable mistake.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace sign Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta; spells bad news for Michy Batshuayi...