Journalist Fabrizio Romano has spoken about the rumors linking Liverpool with a move for Joao Palhinha in January.
Palhinha has been the most popular player since Liverpool fans dominated the game against them last May. However, while there have been many rumors of him joining the Reds this summer, this has not materialised.
These rumors continue to swirl as we enter the new transfer window. Asked specifically about Liverpool and Palhinha during yesterday’s Kickstream, Romano dismissed the link.
“Liverpool haven’t had any real contact with Palhinha at the moment,” said the transfer pundit, detailing their expectations of the Fulham midfielder.
“Palhinha is on the list of many clubs. He could be very expensive. The price will be the deciding factor. If Fulham think they can let him go for €75-80m, Arsenal, Bayern and all the other clubs will be fighting.
“If they can accept the additional fee, I think Palhinha will probably leave in the January transfer window.” “His priority is to leave in January.”Liverpool are not active in their pursuit of Palhinha.
This may be a little disappointing for fans hoping to see Liverpool play Palhinha in the New Year.But Romano doesn’t seem to be ruling anything out. Nor does he argue that Bayern Munich or Arsenal are making progress.
As a result, it still looks like an open race. Of course, as with Liverpool, the final price will be a deciding factor in Palhinha’s transfer. Bayern agreed a £58million deal with Fulham on deadline day for the 28-year-old but the move fell through.
As Romano said, if the Cottagers want to continue paying that amount (or more), Palhinha could stay.This may not be a problem for Fulham, who are clearly keen to keep hold of one of their best players. But for Palhinya himself, he may see this as a small betrayal.
The Portugal international, who has gone about his business brilliantly since turning down a summer move, may feel his club have done him a favor here. If Liverpool were really interested in being an escape route for Palhinha, you’d think they would have already made a move.
Reds want to complete everything by early January and now is the time to start that process. But no news still means bad news. Let’s see how things go.
