Just over a week past the summer Deadline Day and Manchester United have already been linked with a potential January transfer. According to sources, the Red Devils are interested in Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha and could make a move when the winter transfer window opens on January 1. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, however, has played down United’s interest in the player, saying there have been no talks over the potential transfer.
Palhinha was close to joining Bayern Munich
Throughout the summer, Palhinha was heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich, but the deal spectacularly fell through in the end. Fulham had an agreement with Bayern over the transfer, but ultimately pulled the plug as they could not find a suitable replacement for their star player.
Now, owning to their poor start to. the Premier League campaign, United have been credited with an interest in the player. Romano, however, believes Bayern would be the ones to try again for Palhinha in January. In his Caught Offside column, the Italian journalist revealed:
“As I previously reported, Bayern Munich came very close to signing Joao Palhinha this summer, only for the deal to fall through late on as Fulham couldn’t find a replacement, and now there’s been further speculation about the Portuguese midfielder’s future.
“I’m aware that Manchester United have been linked as suitors for Palhinha when the transfer window opens again in January, but I’m not a fan of commenting on rumours about something that is still four months away. Nothing is going on now, and also Man United just spent money on another defensive midfielder with the Sofyan Amrabat deal.”
He concluded by saying:
“I think Bayern will try again for Palhinha but again, it’s too early to say for sure, January is far.”
Manchester United Do Not Need Another Defensive Midfielder
It is natural for rumors to arise following United’s calamitous start to the 2022-23 campaign, which has seen them endure two defeats in four games. The team’s first-choice defensive midfielder Casemiro has been below par, but that does not necessarily mean United need to add another defensive midfielder to their roster.
They recently signed Morocco star Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina, who should be able to give stiff competition to Casemiro. Competition for places is likely to get the best out of the former Real Madrid superstar. Additionally, Fulham could also prefer to sell Palhinha to a foreign club instead of league rivals United, making the potential transfer all the more complicated.
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