AC Milan had to protect their future when withdrawing from a deadline-day move for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta over a knee issue, says sporting director Igli Tare.

Milan were set to sign Mateta from Palace – who clinched a £48m move for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen – for around €30m (£26m).

However, when the Frenchman underwent a medical, a previously undetected knee issue was highlighted in tests, causing Milan to pull the plug.

Reports on Tuesday said Mateta, who was devastated by the collapse of his move to the Serie A giants, is now considering undergoing knee surgery.

Speaking ahead of the Rossoneri's trip to Bologna, Tare told DAZN: "The Mateta operation was about the future and not the present. 

"We tried to anticipate it, and then we found this physical problem and decided not to go ahead with the negotiation.

"In the future, we will see. The team has done very well so far, [Rafael] Leao has had a problem in recent weeks, [Christian] Pulisic has had problems, but we are happy with our team, and we will move on without looking for excuses."

Mateta has scored eight Premier League goals this season, though he has underperformed his 12.0 expected goals (xG).

Milan, who beat Bologna 3-0 on Tuesday, did get another important piece of business done in the last week, though, as they tied goalkeeper and captain Mike Maignan down to a new five-year contract.

Maignan was viewed as likely to leave, having entered the final six months of his previous deal, but Tare always expected him to remain at San Siro.

He said: "It wasn't difficult for Mike, because he's now a flag of this club. 

"There were negotiations to be had, but his desire has always been to stay at Milan, and he has always fought to make it happen. The club did well, giving a signal for the future. "