West Ham have now given up on signing £90m Liverpool transfer target

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West Ham will reportedly not look to make a second bid for Joao Palhinha, with Liverpool also chasing the Fulham midfielder this summer.

According to the Athletic, the Irons are now no longer confident they can sign Palhinha after having a £45m bid rejected by Marco Silva’s side, with West Ham now likely to pursue other targets in the market having been shot down by Fulham.

With the Liverpool Echo recently reporting that Jurgen Klopp’s side are interested in Palhinha, West Ham dropping their interest in the midfielder could be huge for the Reds, especially with Fabinho set to leave Anfield for Al-Ittihad in the coming days.

However, according to the Daily Mail, Fulham aren’t afraid to demand as much as £90m for Palhinha, who last season was a key reason behind the Cottagers’ incredible year back in the Premier League, with the midfielder winning admirers from the likes of Liverpool.

Indeed, with West Ham now out of the picture for Palhinha, Liverpool could stand with a good chance of landing the midfielder. But with Fulham rejecting a £45m offer for the 28-year-old, it would take a sizeable bid for the Reds to land the Portuguese international.

West Ham’s Palhinha stance now a double-edge sword for Liverpool

West Ham pulling out of the race for Palhinha should, on paper at least, be seen as a big win for Liverpool. However, given how big a bid the Hammers made for the Fulham man only to see it shot down, the Reds could now think they might have to break the bank for the midfielder.

As we know, Fulham are intent on keeping hold of Palhinha this summer. And whilst Liverpool would be a tempting move for the midfielder, the Anfield side can be forgiven for not wanting to spend too much on a player who is now 28-years-old.