Summary
West Ham United will not be making a third bid for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha, according to ExWHUEmployee.
The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the London Stadium throughout the summer.
Will Joao Palhinha join West Ham this summer?
It seems now that the Portuguese midfielder won't be making the switch to West Ham this summer.
All window long the defensive midfielder has been linked with a move to the Conference League champions as their Declan Rice replacement as the England international joined Arsenal for a record fee of £105m.
Palhinha impressed many last season in his debut campaign for Fulham following his £20m move. The 28-year-old led the league in tackles made quite comfortably with 147. That was ahead of second-placed Moises Caicedo who could only manage 100. The midfielder was ranked as the sixth-best defensive midfielder in the Premier League last season with an average rating of 6.93 according to WhoScored.
After the Cottagers reportedly valued the former Sporting CP midfielder at £90m, negotiations continued until the Hammers submitted their first offer for Palhinha of £45m which was turned down by Fulham. A week later the Hammers returned to the table and submitted an increased offer of £50m that was also rejected by the Cottagers with the club desperate to keep their Player of the Season from last season.
Two days ago, Palhinha suffered an injury in a pre-season clash against Brentford, forced to come off injured in the first half with what looked like a dislocated shoulder, which has put any potential move this summer at risk of collapse, should the scans reveal the worst.
Speaking on The West Ham Way Podcast on Patreon, ExWHUEmployee stated that West Ham have communicated to Fulham that following the second rejection they will not be making any more offers for the 28-year-old: "Palhinha was subjected to a second verbal offer from West Ham, that offer was supposed to be at the £50m price tag. I’m not sure if that was a flat price or if it contained clauses but £50m in total which Fulham turned down and we have now said that we won’t be making any offers, which coincided with him going off injured in a pre-season friendly for Fulham with a suspected dislocated shoulder"
Who will West Ham buy instead?
West Ham do have a number of other players who they might target after moving on from Palhinha.
One such player is Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez. The Mexican was reportedly close to joining Borussia Dortmund earlier this window however that move collapsed due to the German side not wanting to pay the asking price, which is reportedly between £35-40m. Alvarez is an incredible all-around option, with his passing numbers of 83.91 passes attempted and 88.7% passes completed being comparable to some of the best in the world, whilst his defensive numbers are consistently strong according to FBref.
Manchester United's Scott McTominay is another option being considered by the Hammers according to reports. The midfielder has struggled for starts under Erik ten Hag and is free to depart this summer should the Red Devils receive a "very big offer". The United youth product is a versatile and experienced option, having made over 200 career appearances across central midfield, central defence and centre forward.
Denis Zakaria is also a reported option, however, according to ExWHUEmployee that deal is stalled due to the two clubs being unable to agree on a payment structure. The Hammers want a loan move or an installments move based on appearances made in order to account for the Swiss international's injury problems, whilst Juventus want a straight fee for the player who spent last season on loan at Chelsea.