Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha has been out of action after suffering an injury in the club’s pre-season campaign earlier in July.
After the astonishing transfer battle between Chelsea and Liverpool around the signatures of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, Chelsea have come out on top having signed both players. This has left Liverpool without a proper holding midfielder in their ranks.
Reports from the UK have suggested that Joao Palhinha is one of the names being mentioned as a possible signing for Liverpool but the player is currently out injured.
Palhinha met with an injury on July 24 in Fulham’s preseason game against fellow Premier League side Brentford, who they face again in the league next weekend. The injury was then diagnosed to be a shoulder dislocation which was set to put the player out for many weeks.
Fulham managed their first victory of the 2023/24 campaign against Everton on Saturday without Palhinha but will surely miss the midfielder for as long as he is out. New reports suggest that the Portuguese could be on his way out of Fulham permanently though.
It is also being reported that Liverpool are waiting for an update on his injury to plan their next step as their desperation to sign a holding midfielder grows.
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Despite the extent of the Portuguese’s injury, some reports are suggesting that it may not be too long before he can return to action. Liverpool will certainly be discussing this with the player and his representatives if their interest in him is genuine.
There is apparent hope in the Fulham camp that the 28-year-old may even return back to the first-team squad as early as their game against the Bees on Saturday.
£60 million is the price that was rumoured to be demanded by Fulham when West Ham United were said to be interested in Palhinha earlier in the transfer window. The Hammers ended up signing Mexican Edson Alvarez instead but the price tag that the Cottagers were after for their player may remain the same.
There is evidence to believe that Liverpool have this kind of money available after manager Jurgen Klopp publicly admitted that they had agreed a deal with Brighton for Caicedo worth over £100 million. The deal fell through but Klopp’s confirmation also confirms that the club have money to spend.
The Reds seem to have the money but nobody to spend it on at the moment, but if Palhinha is set to return from his injury, he could potentially be one to watch this late on in the transfer window.
