If Liverpool are looking for further midfield reinforcements in January, they will look to relatively local solutions.
Joao Palhinha, who has previously been linked with Jurgen Klopp’s men, could leave in the winter, according to the Daily Mail (Mirror).
Sky Germany have confirmed Florian Plettenberg.Fulham have said they will allow Joao to join Bayern Munich in January for less than the €60-65m planned for the summer.
➡️ Palhinha remains on Bayern’s list.
➡️ But it is clear that the club will not pay 60 million euros for him at the moment.
Palhinha and Bayern, money is important…pic.twitter.com/zFijVi7yOO— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) November 21, 2023
Approximately 52 million euros. That’s not a very expensive price in modern terms for one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Does Palhinha fit?
If Liverpool want a true destroyer like Fabinho, they could do a lot worse than the Fulham star. According to FBref, the 27-year-old has incredibly high defensive stats, including tackles (99th percentile), interceptions (89th percentile), blocks (83rd percentile) and aerial attacks (85th percentile).
But we would be very concerned about what we would lose in terms of progress/wealth. You can imagine that Palhinha’s numbers would be negatively affected by the quality of the players around him, but his pass completion percentage is a very low 46% (Alexis McAllister is 68th).
Instead, players like our Argentine sensation and Curtis Jones are much better at holding the ball and moving it up the field.
While the temptation to return to the Destroyer may not be overwhelming for some sections of the fanbase, we’re not sure if the Cottagers star is what our selection team are looking for.
