Liverpool delight as Euro giants urged against signing of Klopp target, with new price tag suggested

Liverpool could move into pole position for the signing of Fulham star Joao Palhinha, as Bayern have been warned that taking him to the Allianz Arena might be a mistake.

Palhinha joined Fulham in the summer of 2022, as they paid Sporting £20million for him. The defensive midfielder went on to make 40 appearances last season and scored four goals. He established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, as he regularly bossed the middle of the park for Fulham.

Palhinha’s top displays for the Cottagers resulted in rumours he might leave the club over the summer. With Thomas Tuchel on the hunt for a new player to fill the No 6 role, Bayern entered discussions with Fulham over a potential transfer.

The two clubs went on to agree a deal worth €65m (£57m). But Fulham told Bayern that the Portugal international would only move to Germany if they managed to secure a replacement first.

As Fulham did not sign a replacement in time, Palhinha ended up staying in London. On September 3, Palhinha’s brother Goncalo claimed that the move to Bayern had only been ‘postponed’, rather than ‘killed’, with Tuchel’s side expected to re-enter talks in the winter window.

But Bayern are not alone in chasing Palhinha. Earlier this month, it emerged that long-term admirers Liverpool are back in the race for him.

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And Jurgen Klopp could finally get his man next year, as former Reds star Didi Hamann has told Bayern they ‘can’t’ pay the potential €80-90m (£70-78m) fee now required to land Palhinha.

“Bayern have been playing the same football for six months, with little control and stability, and nothing has changed,” he said in an interview with Sky Germany.

Bayern warned against capture of Liverpool-linked star

“When I recognise the problem, I have to try to fix it with the players I have available. Tuchel wanted to bring in Palhinha in the summer, that didn’t work out, and he probably doesn’t cost 60 million now, but 80 or 90.

“You can’t pay that for a player like that and it’s uncertain whether the Munich team will find another defensive midfielder in the winter, which gives them the necessary defensive stability.

“I don’t know whether Tuchel wants to survive without a six, but if you don’t pay attention, keep playing football like this, lose important games and have self-doubts, you can get into huge problems in the league in the winter.”

Of course, Klopp has already had his midfield strengthened by the recent arrivals of Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo.

But Mac Allister has looked uncomfortable when he has been selected in the defensive midfield role. As such, if Palhinha moved to Liverpool, then he could compete with Endo for that position, and this would in turn allow Klopp to unleash Mac Allister further forward.

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