9 months ago
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Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan admits Joao Palhinha – who has been linked with Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea – could be sold this summer.
But Khan has warned interested clubs that they would have to make an offer for the highly-rated defensive midfielder that ‘made sense for everyone’.
Ever since his £20million move to Craven Cottage in 2022, Palhinha has been considered one of the best players from outside the Premier League’s traditional ‘big-six’.
Last season, the 28-year-old completed the most tackles of any player in the top-flight, recording a whopping 48 more than next best Moises Caicedo, and he leads the stat again for this campaign.
His eye-catching performances have helped Fulham solidify their status in the Premier League and attracted attention from some of Europe’s biggest sides, with the Portugal international coming very close to a move to Bayern Munich last summer.
That deal collapsed on deadline day after the Cottagers failed to find a replacement on time, with Palhinha going on to sign a new contract until 2028.
Bayern’s interest has not waivered however, while Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea are also keen on his services and they may be in luck, with Khan now saying that he would be open to selling Palhinha for the right price, with the Cottagers reportedly holding out for £60m.
‘Joao Palhinha is a phenomenal player and I think Joao’s acclimation to the Premier League has shown that he is an amazing player,’ the Fulham chief told talkSPORT.
‘He’s a huge part of the core of Fulham and we love having him here. I would want him as part of the team for as long as possible and we were very happy to extend his contract.
‘But if an offer came along that would make sense for everyone I think that’s something you have to consider with every player at the right time.
‘We wanted to keep him and we have kept him, he’s staying with us and there’s a lot of demand for Palhinha. He was a great signing for us.
‘I love working with Marco Silva and he’s someone I work really closely with over transfers and building the squad. I talk to him on a regular basis about these things, we made a great signing with Joao and there’s now a huge market, eyes have opened.
‘But it’s part of the business any time you sign a player potentially you know you’re hopefully going to grow their value and that might mean people are going to come in. It’s an exciting part of the industry, but certainly he as a person is central to our team and we love having him at Fulham.’
The Cottagers travel to Manchester United on Saturday but Palhinha won’t be there as he’ll miss the match through suspension after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season.
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