Bayern Munich are ‘ready to pursue’ Fulham’s Joao Palhinha once again in the January transfer window after missing out on him this summer.
That’s according to SportBILD, who say the German giants haven’t given up on the Portuguese midfielder despite the late disappointment on deadline day.
Palhinha looked all set to join the Bavarians after they agreed a deal with Fulham and he flew over for a medical, media duties and everything else.
However, the move did not go through as Fulham failed to send over the paperwork and refused to sanction the transfer after failing to find a replacement for the player on deadline day of the window.
They’ve kept Palhinha until January at the earliest, but it seems Bayern will be back at that point to try and get their man.
SportBILD explain that while the Portuguese star was classified as not good enough by former sports director Hasan Salihamidzic, that is not the case with those who are now in charge.
In fact, they are more than happy to sign Palhinha from Fulham and pay €65m to do so after manager Thomas Tuchel ‘explicitly wished’ for him.
That is why they pushed for him late in the summer window and even though the deal failed, they are ‘ready to pursue’ him again and grant Tuchel the player he wants. They’re boosted by the fact Palhinha wants the move.
Indeed, when the midfielder was sent back to Fulham after the deadline day disappointment, board member Jan-Christian Dreesen said goodbye with the words “it’s not the end of the day yet”.
That was a clear indication that Bayern’s interest is not dead yet and Fulham may be wise to gear themselves up for disappointment in January.
