Bayern Munich have reached an agreement worth €51million (£43.1m, $54.9m) plus €5m in add-ons to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham.
Palhinha came close to joining the German club last summer after agreeing terms, but the move collapsed due to Fulham being unable to find a replacement. The 28-year-old was so close to the move, that he had completed his medical and posed with his new shirt.
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The Portugal international was also the subject of a £45m ($58.8m) bid from West Ham United last summer, which Fulham rejected.
The Athletic reported Bayern’s first bid for Palhinha this summer on June 9, with the final agreement the third offer from the German club and equaling a club record sale for Fulham.
Palhinha has starred for Marco Silva’s side since joining from Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2022, helping Fulham to secure successive mid-table positions in the Premier League.
In February, Fulham vice-chairman Tony Khan said the club would be open to selling the midfielder this summer for the right price.
Now, Palhinha, who is currently at the European Championship with Portugal, appears finally set to move to the Bundesliga, where he will join a side now under the management of Vincent Kompany, who was appointed by Bayern in May 2024.
Additional reporting by Seb Stafford-Bloor
Palhinha’s arrival long overdue at Bayern
Analysis from The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor
Bayern have been chasing Palhinha for over a year for good reason. While their midfield is generally well-stocked, the club have never really replaced Javi Martinez, who left Germany in 2021. Konrad Laimer was signed on a free transfer last summer, but Bayern remain short of defensive rigidity in that part of the pitch and have struggled to find a balanced combination.
Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka both have uncertain futures. Aleksandar Pavlovic is one of the brightest talents in the Bundesliga but is a much more artisanal midfielder, whose strengths are all with possession.
Conversely, Palhinha is one of the most combative one-on-one tacklers in the Premier League. While also technically accomplished and a finer passer, the Portuguese will provide a layer of protection ahead of a defence which has struggled over recent seasons and within which several players — including Dayot Upamecano, Matthys de Ligt, Kim Min-jae and Eric Dier — have individually struggled.
There is no question that Palhinha is someone Bayern needed and few fans will quibble with the club having made him the fourth-highest transfer in the club’s history.
GO DEEPER
Fulham's player of the season: Joao Palhinha, the master destroyer
Fulham face big challenge to replace Palhinha
Analysis from The Athletic’s Peter Rutzler
Joao Palhinha has had to wait a year, but at last he will become a Bayern player.
For Fulham, he has been a revelation. Signed for a fee in the region of €20m (£17.2m) in 2022, Palhinha has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water. His style of play, characterised by a ferocious appetite for a slide tackle, has not only made him a clear fan favourite, but also one of the Premier League’s most eye-catching defensive midfielders.
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For two seasons in a row, Palhinha has won more tackles than any other player, by a sizeable margin (152 in 2023-24, up from 148 in 2022-23).
For Marco Silva, who was instrumental in his recruitment, Palhinha has been a key cog in his midfield. After winning promotion from the Championship, he wanted a more combative holding player after allowing Jean-Michaell Seri, a playmaker, to depart. Since signing, Palhinha has been the hearbeat of the team and the fear has been that Fulham would struggle without him. Last summer, as Bayern made a last ditch attempt to sign Palhinha, the prospect of losing both Aleksandar Mitrovic and Palhinha in one summer was unpalatable.
Fulham could not find a replacement at short notice last summer and Palhinha signed a new deal not long afterwards. If anything, this was a deserved pay rise after a strong season. Palhinha’s desire to join Bayern was clear. His professionalism since his painful near miss last year has been exemplary and so finding an accommodation when Bayern returned to the table, including a play rise through a new deal, felt necessary. The fee received will surpass that received for Mitrovic last summer from Al Hilal (€52.6m, £46m).
The challenge for Fulham now is to find a replacement. They have coped much better when Palhinha has been absent this past season, but a No 6 now will be under consideration. Fluminense’s Andre is one name the club have targeted. Unlike last summer, they have more time now to adapt to life without Palhinha.
(Alex Davidson/Getty Images)