West Ham in talks to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham, £40m fee mooted

West Ham are in talks with Fulham over the signing of Joao Palhinha and are hopeful of securing a £40million deal, according to talkSPORT.

Palhinha has long been linked with a move across London and the Hammers now have room to manoeuvre following the £105m sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.

The Guardian reported on 19 June that Fulham would look for a £50m fee to sell Palhinha, while the Sun said on Friday (14 July) that they feared being priced out of the deal.

However, talkSPORT suggests they are hoping to get a deal done for £10m less than the Guardian reported.

Pay up

West Ham have virtually no chance of signing a direct replacement for Declan Rice, manager David Moyes has said so himself. The England midfielder is a world-class talent.

But what the Hammers can do is ensure that the money they reinvest from Rice’s sale is used to make sure that the sum of the parts adds up to the whole and they end up with more strength in depth in the engine department.

Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria, Edson Alvarez of Ajax, and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse have all been among the names linked with a move to London Stadium.

If Palhinha is one of the players to join, and West Ham can sign at least one of the other options named then they will have done some pretty shrewd business with the cash raised from Rice’s sale.

However, if they want Palhinha, they’re going to have to cough up the money.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers are ready to test Harry Maguire’s resolve to stay at Manchester United.