West Ham are extremely interested to bring in Joao Palhinha from Fulham as a replacement for Declan Rice.
Joao Palhinha is a priority transfer target or West Ham with Declan Rice widely expected to leave the London Stadium his summer, according to Dharmesh Sheth, via Give Me Sport.
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Hammers manager David Moyes desperately needs to strengthen his central midfield ranks, with Rice apparently on his way out fo the club in the summer transfer window.
And it seems as though Palhinha could be the man for the job…
Dharmesh Sheth provides big Joao Palhinha update but West Ham won’t have it easy
The Sky Sports journalist has been speaking to Give Me Sport at length about the Hammers’ pursuit of the Fulham star.
And Sheth highlighted just how much Moyes wants to bring the Portugal international to the London Stadium this summer:
“Palhinha from Fulham, West Ham are very, very interested in him. There was a report going out that he had a release clause in his contract and on Twitter, Tony Khan, the football director at Fulham actually replied to that report and said, ‘no, there is no release clause’. So Fulham are in the driving seat here simply because he’s got a contract until 2027, he’s still got four years left on it and he had a fantastic season, so his value has only gone up.”
Palhinha is a top-class player and would be a very strong signing for the Hammers if we manage to get this one done.
However, Fulham are said to be demanding £50 million for the Portuguese ace (the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg). That’s just too much money for us to be spending on someone who will be 28 next month in my opinion.
£35-40 million, and we’re talking.
In 35 Premier League appearances since joining Fulham, the 27-year-old has scored three goals and has averaged 4.2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.7 clearances per match. He has made 36.3 passes per match on average and has recorded a completion rate of 83.1% (Who Scored).
Joao Palhinha is a truly fantastic defensive midfielder and would be a super signing for West Ham. He has already proven that he possesses all of the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League.
If we sign the Fulham star as well as another elite central midfielder, I think we’ll be in business come the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
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