A £90m-rated midfield destroyer tipped to hand in transfer request to seal Anfield switch
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.
Jurgen Klopp, the manager of the Reds, has had a very difficult time in the summer market after failing to sign his top two targets for the midfield position, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, who both joined Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Wataru Endo, a Japanese international who made his debut in Saturday’s comeback victory over Bournemouth, has now been signed by the Anfield team.
Klopp is still rumored to want to bring in one more midfielder before the market ends on September 1.
Joao Palhinha of Fulham is another player who has been persistently linked with a move to Merseyside.
It is understood that West Ham made an unsuccessful £45 million approach for the disruptive midfielder earlier in the transfer season. They even advised the Hammers to forgo making a follow-up bid.
However, the fact that the Cottagers are already buckling under the pressure of losing their star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic seems to have given Liverpool hope that a similar circumstance would arise with Palhinha.
The Portugal international, however, won’t be cheap; according to Fulham, the player is valued at around £90 million.
A trade might be challenging to complete, but former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton says that if Palhinha submits a transfer request, the situation might drastically change.
Speaking about Palhinha to Liverpool, he told Football Insider, “I think it’s going to be difficult to sign him.
After missing out on Moises Caicedo, they have claimed to have money to spend.
“I’m not claiming that any of this will actually occur, but Palhinha is capable of taking those paths, so we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.
But they’ll have to fork over a sizable sum of cash.
It might cost them £80 million or more, which is a significant sum of money, and Fulham is aware of their desperation for that position to be strengthened so they can truly ask for what they want.
“They have the player under contract, so depending on what the player says going ahead, I think it will be difficult for Liverpool.
“Players occasionally have the power to submit a transfer request if they desire to depart.
