Fulham breathed a major sigh of relief after Bayern Munich’s move to sign João Palhinha for €65m collapsed at the last minute.
The Portugal international had flown to Germany to undergo a medical and sign for Bayern, but the deal was dependent on Fulham signing a replacement for the midfielder. Marco Silva was desperate not to lose Palhinha, who has been hugely influential since joining from Sporting Lisbon last summer.
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Bayern’s interest presented Fulham with a major headache, especially when Palhinha informed them of his desire to join the German champions. Fulham scoured the market for midfielders and contacted Tottenham about a deal for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, who did not want to move to Craven Cottage. It is understood that the west Londoners also considered Leicester’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
With the German window shutting at 5pm, though, time was not on Bayern’s side and they were left frustrated when the deadline arrived. Fulham had not signed a new midfielder and Palhinha, who was a target for West Ham earlier this summer, was set to return to London. It remains to be seen if he is involved against Manchester City on Saturday.
It has not been an easy window for Fulham, who reluctantly lost their main striker, Aleksandar Mitrovic, to the Saudi Pro League but Silva will take heart from Palhinha staying put and the club were also poised to complete the £22m signing of the Everton winger Alex Iwobi.