Liverpool
Premier League • England
Liverpool transfers: £90m-rated midfield destroyer tipped to hand in transfer request to seal Anfield switch
Joao Palhinha tipped to hand in Fulham transfer request
A top Liverpool midfield target could hand in a transfer request in order to force through a big-money move to Anfield, according to one pundit.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has endured an incredibly frustrating time in the transfer market after missing out on his top two midfield targets as Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia both joined Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The Anfield outfit have since swooped for Japan international Wataru Endo, who made his debut in Saturday’s comeback win over Bournemouth.
However, it’s still thought that Klopp would like one more midfielder through the door before the window closes on September 1.
And one player who continues to be heavily linked with a move to Merseyside is Fulham star Joao Palhinha.
West Ham are known to have tried and failed with a £45million bid for the destructive midfielder earlier in the window. Indeed, they even warned the Hammers not to even bother with a follow-up offer.
But with the Cottagers already buckling over an exit for star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, that appears to have given Liverpool hope that a similar situation could materialise with Palhinha.
The Portugal international will not come cheap though, with Fulham said to rate the player in the £90m bracket – given the current market.
READ MORE: A full list of every completed Premier League transfer in the 2023 summer transfer window
Palhinha could force Fulham’s hand
And, according to former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton, while a deal could be a difficult one to pull off, Palhinha potentially handing in a transfer request could change matters significantly.
He told Football Insider, when speaking about Palhinha to Liverpool: “I think it’s going to be difficult to sign him.
“They’ve put out there that they’ve got money to spend after missing out on Moises Caicedo.
“It could cost them £80million or more, it’s a lot of money, and Fulham know that they’re desperate for that position to be strengthened so they can really ask what they want.
“They’ve got the player under contract, so I think moving forward it will be difficult for Liverpool depending on what the player says.
“Sometimes players have got power and if they want to leave they can hand in a transfer request.
“All this I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but those avenues is something that Palhinha can go down, so we’ll wait and see how it develops.
“But they’re going to have to pay a lot of money.”
Liverpool are back in action on Sunday when they face the tough trip to Newcastle in the Premier League.