Manchester United have joined a host of huge clubs interested in acquiring the services of João Palhinha from Fulham.
According to teamtalk.com, the Red Devils have joined illustrious names such as German giants Bayern Munich and other Premier League clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal in expressing an interest in the Portuguese player.
The Portugal midfielder joined Fulham in 2022 from Sporting Lisbon and made an incredible start to life in the Premier League. The Cottagers finished a highly impressive tenth, gaining 52 points in the process.
Palhinha himself was a big factor in this upturn in form and he played 35 times in the Premier League last term, scoring 3 goals. The player has also been ever present this season playing 14 games in all competitions to date for the West London team. (All stats on Transfermarkt.com)
The defensive midfielder has also become an instrumental part of his national side’s plans, having played 24 times since making his debut in 2021.
Sofascore claim that the player has maintained his good form from last season. The player has averaged a season rating of 7.16 on the site, while keeping the ball ticking over well, completing an impressive 84% of his own passes.
The former Sporting man has also been defensively strong, making 7.1 ball recoveries and averaging 5.3 tackles a game this campaign.
The midfielder’s fine form saw him on the cusp of making a move to Bayern Munich in the final days of the transfer window, only to see the move scuppered in the final moments. The German champions had all but agreed a deal for around £60m, but it fell through. This would have been a massive profit for the side from Craven Cottage, as they only spent £18m to bring him in from Sporting Lisbon the previous summer.
Bayern now risk missing out once again on the player as Palhinha’s “representatives have held conversations with some of the Premier League’s leading lights”, which includes the Red Devils, reports claim.
The price for the midfielder could also be hiked up further as he signed a new deal in September which takes his contract through to 2028. Resultingly, there are fears that £60m won’t cut it this time around.
The Peoples Person has covered United’s interest in the past, claiming that the team could be interested in a move in January for the player. Moreover, it has also been reported here that the Red Devils went for Sofyan Amrabat only after being priced out of a summer move for Bruno Fernandes’ and Diogo Dalot’s compatriot.
To complicate matters, it seems United may have significant competition as transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has stated that Arsenal are definitely interested in bringing the defensive midfielder into their ranks. Although, they are apparently not confident of an easy deal due to price and competing teams.
It is clear as to why Manchester United have seemingly thrown their hat into the ring for the Portugal international. Casemiro is being heavily linked to a move to Saudi Arabia while The Peoples Person also highlighted yesterday that Christian Eriksen may also be on the move, with the club ready to let him go. Another midfielder, Mason Mount, has barely played due to injury and when he has, looks completely lost most of the time.
A move for Palhinha in January looks very unlikely for United as coach Erik ten Hag has recently spoken about the difficulties surrounding doing any deals in January. However, if the 28 year old is still on the market in the summer, United may feel that is the time to act.
