Liverpool have been linked with the move for the Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha.
The 28-year-old has established himself as a key player for the West London club and his performances have attracted the attention of Liverpool. However, Dean Jones has revealed on Give Me Sport that Liverpool are unlikely to come forward with an offer to sign the player in January.
“Palhinha is outstanding in that role. I think he’s the best in the whole division in that position, and while Fulham expect to hold on to him for the time being, a bid from a team like Liverpool would change that. I don’t think I can see Liverpool coming in with a £60m bid in January to take him away, even though he seems perfect.”
The midfielder is reportedly valued at £60 million and it will be interesting to see where he ends up. He was heavily linked with a move to the German club Bayern Munich at the start of the season, but Fulham managed to hold onto him eventually.
The Portugal international has established himself as the finest defensive midfielder in the league this season and it is no surprise that he is being linked with the top clubs.
Liverpool could certainly use a quality defensive midfielder, especially after the departure of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson at the start of the season. They have been using Alexis Mac Allister in the anchor role, but the Argentine international is a creative midfielder, and Liverpool must look to bring in a specialist defensive midfielder and allow the South American to play his natural game.
A move to Liverpool would be a major step up in Palhinha’s career and he is likely to be attracted to the idea of playing at Anfield. It will be interesting to see how the situation develops over the next few weeks.
Liverpool were prepared to pay big money for defensive midfielders at the start of the season and they submitted a club-record bid for Moises Caicedo.
They are currently second in the league table and they will need to plug the gaps in their squad if they want to win the league title this season. Signing a quality defensive midfielder would not only help them improve defensively, but it would also allow their creative players to operate with more freedom.
The 28-year-old is at the peak of his powers and he will look to make an immediate impact if he joins Liverpool. There is no doubt that he is good enough to play for the best clubs in England and he would improve the Reds immensely.
