West Ham have reportedly had a £40m bid rejected by Fulham for Joao Palhinha, with the Portuguese midfielder rumoured to be a target for Liverpool.
According to the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg, the Irons have been turned down by their London rivals for Palhinha, with West Ham working fast to sign a replacement for Declan Rice after the midfielder’s British-record transfer to Arsenal earlier this week.
David Moyes’ side are far from alone in their interest in Palhinha, though, with the Liverpool Echo reporting that Liverpool are keeping tabs on the midfielder as a potential replacement for Fabinho, who is set to move to Saudi Arabia this month with Al-Ittihad.
A player who Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of, West Ham making a bid for Palhinha could be seen as a warning shot for Liverpool to get their act together over the Fulham star, with the former Sporting Lisbon dynamo a perfect replacement this summer for Fabinho.
Liverpool can’t allow West Ham to win Palhinha race
Praised by Match of the Day commenter Steve Wilson as an ‘outstanding’ midfielder, Palhinha as Fabinho’s successor could be a dream signing for Liverpool. Yet with West Ham having an offer rejected for the 28-year-old, the Reds need to find their way back into this transfer race.
As we know, replacing Fabinho will be Liverpool’s main mission in the remaining weeks of the window, and missing out on Palhinha to a club like West Ham would be quite the embarrassment for Klopp, especially with the German such a big fan of the Portuguese international.
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