According to The Athletic, Bayern Munich has reignited their interest in Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha after narrowly missing out last summer.
Bayern had failed to land the midfielder because Fulham did not have an apt replacement but the Bavarians have returned once again and as per David Ornstein, they have made an offer of around €35million.
The Cottagers, however, have rejected this offer as well but Bayern remain in advanced negotiations and they are hoping to reach an agreement by the end of this month which will allow Fulham plenty of time to find a replacement.
Joao Palhinha joined Fulham from Sporting CP in 2022 for a fee of €22 million and he still has four more years remaining in his contract so it’s hardly a surprise that the EPL side have rejected the €35 million offer. Palhinha has been one of the best CDMs in the English top division in these two seasons and his current market value is €55 million so Fulham will be hoping to bring in at least €60 million for the midfielder.
Can Bayern Munich reach an agreement for Joao Palhinha in time?
Apart from Bayern, Liverpool and Arsenal have also been linked with the 28-year-old which is why Bayern are hoping to fast-track things before these two English giants make any formal moves.
Both Liverpool and Arsenal are in need of a new world-class defensive midfielder and they won’t mind spending €65-odd million on a talent like Joao Palhinha.
The CDM has played in 33 league matches this season and he has been dispossessed only 26 times. He has made 195 recovery runs, won 60% of his duels and has made 46 interceptions.
Palhinha was ready to head to Germany last summer before the talks collapsed and according to several experts, the Portugal international still has his heart set on a move to the Allianz Arena.
German football expert Florian Plettenberg has claimed that Palhinha has a “verbal agreement in principle” with Bayern Munich so unless Arsenal or Liverpool are willing to offer a crazy salary package, Joao Palhinha should be packing his bags for Germany.
The Bavarians rarely spend big money on players so the player will just be hoping that Bayern Munich are ready to meet Fulham’s transfer demands which could go up steeply because the midfielder’s contract does not have a release clause.
