The transfer window in most of Europe has now closed and despite considerable interest in the Fulham midfielder, Joao Palhinha remains at Craven Cottage. His longer term future is still in doubt though with Bayern Munich a potential January destination. Here’s the Joao Palhinha transfer latest following the collapse of his deadline day move to Bavaria.
The 28 year old was all set to move to Munich and had even travelled to the home of the German champions to undergo a medical having agreed personal terms. However Fulham’s inability to find a replacement was the reason the deal collapsed with targets such as Manchester United’s Scott McTominay and Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ultimately both staying put.
As a result, it’s Bayern Munich who end up short on defensive midfield options. They sold Ryan Gravenberch to Liverpool in one of the biggest deadline day deals and Palhinha was lined up as his replacement which raises the possibility of Bayern resuming their interest when the January transfer window opens.
Joao Palhinha transfer latest – January move still possible?
Bayern are set to launch a fresh move for João Palhinha in January. Fulham manager Marco Silva does not want to lose Palhinha, but the club are thought to be willing to let him go if they have a replacement lined up. Fulham moved to sign Scott McTominay and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg… pic.twitter.com/kcypUKVTZ2
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) September 6, 2023
The deadline day drama is unlikely to be the end of the story when it comes to Joao Palhinha’s potential move to Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants are clearly short in his position and even since the collapse of the transfer, those close to the deal have indicated that this transfer could still go through in January.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen has indicated that could be the case.
“He was extremely sad yesterday” said Dreesen following the late collapse of the deal. “He would’ve liked to stay. But as we say: most of the time, you see each other twice in life”.
Joao Palhinha’s agent and brother Goncalo has also since taken to social media to claim the deal has only been “postponed”. There was clearly a lot of disappointment from both the player and buying club that this deal didn’t go through and much may now hinge on Fulham and their ability to source a replacement for the Portuguese international in January.
Fulham to resume search for Palhinha replacement
While Marco Silva was reluctant to lose Joao Palhinha, Fulham were prepared to sanction the deal had they managed to bring in one of their preferred defensive midfield targets. That hunt will now most likely resume in January when their interest in the likes of McTominay and Hojbjerg could also be revived.
McTominay reportedly rebuffed late interest from Fulham with Manchester United looking to offload the Scottish midfielder. Assuming he continues to struggle for meaningful minutes at Old Trafford, McTominay could be available again in January, although Fulham may again have a battle on their hands in trying to convince the player to move to Craven Cottage with other Premier League and potentially European clubs likely to compete for his signature.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s situation is relatively similar. He had been a regular for Spurs since joining the club from Southampton in 2020, but has fallen down the pecking order since the arrival of Ange Postecoglou. Hojberg is yet to start a Premier League game this season and is another player already being linked with a January exit despite the summer transfer window having only just shut.
Hojberg may also be a difficult signing for Fulham to pull off, particularly if they find themselves in the bottom half of the league in a few months time. That could lead them to look at other midfield targets with the club clear in their position that a replacement has to come in, if Joao Palhinha is to move to Munich.
