João Palhinha has told O Jogo that West Ham United tried to sign him from Fulham last summer.
Marco Silva’s side took the 28-year-old from Sporting in the summer of 2022 and he starred in his debut season at Fulham, scoring four goals from 40 games.
The Fulham star’s fine displays had convinced Bayern Munich to bet on him but the deal collapsed. As well as the Bavarian club, West Ham also made an approach to secure the midfielder’s services.
Last September, Marco Silva’s side extended Palhinha’s contract until 2028 with an option for another year.
The newspaper asked the Portugal international if the renewal ended up being a bonus and compensation over a failed move to Bayern. When responding to that, he opened up about the interest shown by the Hammers in acquiring his services last summer.
“No. The renewal had already been scheduled since our pre-season training camp in the United States,” he said.
“At the time, I had received an excellent offer from West Ham and had a conversation with Fulham’s owner, who committed himself to renewing my contract. I took it as a vote of confidence. I never expected that Bayern would turn up in the final stages of the market.”
The former Sporting man hasn’t provided further details of West Ham’s offer and whether it was him, Fulham or both who turned it down.
Palhinha continues to be an integral part of Marco Silva’s plans but there’s the chance he could be the subject of transfer attempts again in the summer.
