Fulham will once again demand a significant fee of £50-60 million for Joao Palhinha amid Arsenal and Liverpool links.
Football Insider reckons Fulham will continue to demand a significant fee of around £50-60 million for Joao Palhinha in the January window. Arsenal and Liverpool are among the teams keen on the 28-year-old midfielder, while there could be others joining the hunt.
Fulham may have had an understanding with Joao Palhinha when they convinced him to sign a new five-year deal in the aftermath of his failed move to Bayern Munich. The midfielder had a wonderful first season with the Cottagers, which made the German Champions put in a big bid.
Rumours circulating later indicated Bayern might come into the equation again in January, but Thomas Tuchel’s priorities have since changed towards bringing in a defender next month. However, there’s significant interest coming from within Premier League clubs.
Fulham are open to a sale as long as their demands are met, which may see them slap a £50-60 million price tag on the 28-year-old midfielder. If that’s the case, then Liverpool are unlikely to pay that much for the Portuguese international.
Liverpool are looking for a new defensive midfielder to aid their title push in January and could look at Palhinha as a viable alternative to some other primary names. However, they could come into the chase if Fulham can somehow come to an understanding over a lower price for the midfielder.
Manchester City have also considered Palhinha as an option for Pep Guardiola’s midfield, but they might look at other names as well. Similarly, Arsenal, who had Douglas Luiz on top of their list, could have conceded defeat in the pursuit of the Aston Villa man, with Unai Emery firm on keeping him at all costs.
A report suggested Arsenal considered him as a replacement for Thomas Partey, but there’s no certainty surrounding a sale of the Ghanaian midfielder. For now, they will continue to evaluate their options based on how Partey recovers from his Lattles injury.
As for Palhinha, he might look at the price tag and think about another difficult transfer period where things could be complicated due to the price tag. Arsenal and Liverpool are the keen clubs, as they could come back into the mix if Fulham reduces their asking price.