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Sporting director Christoph Freund of Bayern Munich has acknowledged that the German team is still interested in Joao Palhinha, a midfielder for Fulham.
Palhinha was a top target for the Bavarians during the summer transfer window after he had a fantastic season as a rookie with the Cottagers.
Palhinha, who joined Fulham from Sporting Lisbon in 2022, started 35 of the 38 Premier League games the team played that season, which contributed to the team’s top-half finish.
On the last day of the summer transfer window, the 28-year-old appeared certain to sign for Bayern, and he even traveled to Germany with the expectation that the deal would be finalized.
But before the two clubs could finalize a deal, the German transfer window closed, and the transfer ultimately fell through.
According to reports, the two teams were unable to come to a final fee agreement, and Fulham was hesitant to let Palhinha go without bringing in a replacement.
Freund has hinted that Bayern may rekindle their interest in January even if the summer transfer fell through.
Freund stated in an interview with Bild that “he is obviously still on our radar.” Throughout the summer, the club worked closely with Palhinha.
“You can’t tell yet what will happen, but I was there for a brief period on the weird final day of the transfer window. Generally speaking, we do market research.”
Even though Palhinha signed a new long-term contract with Fulham after his deadline-day move fell through, Bayern are still willing to pursue a deal.
The midfield player consented to a one-year option to extend his contract with the Cottagers until the summer of 2028.
Palhinha has started nine of his ten Premier League games this season, and he has continued to be a regular for Marco Silva’s team.
Palhinha has joined the Portugal team ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, having played the entire duration of Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Fulham.
