Bayern Munich have just given Liverpool reason to believe they can sign £90m player now

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All season long, Liverpool’s failure to recruit a top-level defensive midfielder during the summer has been debated by fans.

For the moment, a combination of Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo are doing a fine job for the Reds. But the general feeling is that the pair can be improved upon.

As a result, Liverpool have been linked to a wide range of natural holding midfielders, both in the summer transfer window and after it. One of those regularly linked during the off-season was Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha.

Although supporters have urged the Reds to sign Palhinha, it had looked for all the world like the 28-year-old was heading to Bayern Munich on deadline. But after the move broke down, German journalist Florian Plettenberg has today told Sky Sports that Bayern returning for Palhinha in January is now unlikely.

“I think that Joao Palhinha won’t join Bayern Munich in the January transfer window,” he said. “There’s still a kind of contact. But the Bayern bosses are more and more sceptical if they really want to pay that money in the winter for a player who, is he really better than Kimmich, Goretzka or Konrad Laimer?

“So, at this stage of the upcoming window, Bayern won’t go for Joao Palhinha. It’s cold, it’s not hot. Things could change in January, but at the moment they are more focused on finding a central defender who can also play as a right-back.”

Bayern deliver Palhinha hope

In terms of Liverpool’s prospects of signing Palhinha, it obviously doesn’t all hinge on Bayern. Far from it.

There were reports during the summer that Fulham would be looking for around £90m to sell the Portugal international. Clearly, that’s way, way too much.

However, with Palhinha obviously keen for a move – and everyone armed with that knowledge – there’s no chance the Cottagers would be able to secure such a fee. Instead, they’ll likely have to climb down a little.

Not that they’d want to sell him, but if a reasonable bid comes in from a big team, it’ll be hard for them to stand in the way and deny Palhinha a second move.

With Bayern out of the picture, there’s less room for a potential bidding war. As a result, if Liverpool do decide they want Palhinha to be their new defensive midfielder, things should be more straightforward.

From our point of view, we’re not completely sure whether the former Sporting man is the answer. He’s clearly a natural in the position and would probably improve Liverpool in the short-term. Pundit Owen Hargreaves even claimed that the Reds would win the league if they simply signed Palhinha.

But if they do, they’ll just be faced with replacing him again in two or three years. Surely it’s better to get a younger player, someone like Andre Trindade perhaps, who can make the position his own for the next half-decade and more.

Whatever ends up happening for Liverpool in January, it’s always good news to see a fellow big fish like Bayern leave the pond. The Reds should now have reason to believe they can sign Palhinha in January. Whether they’ll do it or not, all we can do is wait and see.