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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Fulham battling to keep Joao Palhinha after rejecting Bayern Munich offer for midfield star

Fulham face a fight to keep Joao Palhinha, with the Premier League side rejected a bid from Bayern Munich for their key midfielder ahead of Friday night’s transfer deadline.

Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel has made Portugese international Palhinha his No1 target in the final hours of the summer window.

Fulham have turned down a £47million bid from Bayern and remain adamant that Palhinha is not for sale. Manager Marco Silva is determined to keep him after already losing key striker Aleksandar Mitrovic to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal this month.

The Cottagers demanded an overall ­package worth £80million for ­Palhinha when West Ham made a move to sign him earlier this summer.

Transfer news live! Follow all the latest deals and rumours

Palhinha has four years left on his contract, so Fulham are in a strong position. The issue for the club could be whether the Portugal international, signed for £20m a year ago, tries to force through a move to the German giants.

In demand: Bayern Munich are striving to sign Fulham’s midfield talisman Joao Palhinha (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Wolves have asked Fulham to name a price for midfielder Harrison Reed. The 28-year-old is interested in a move which would guarantee him more game time, with Fulham also trying to tie up a deal for Everton’s Alex Iwobi.

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