Joao Palhinha set to sign £17m deal with Fulham

Joao Palhinha’s long-awaited move to Fulham will now take place with the player arriving on a deal worth around £17million from Portuguese side Sporting Club.
The Cottagers’ interest in the defensive midfielder is long-standing, and after an agreement was reached with Sporting the move was delayed as a result of a dispute between agents over the commission.

Palhinha is set to be Marco Silva’s first signing as Fulham bid to survive in the Premier League, although the west London club have seen a number of players leave Craven Cottage this window.

The defensive midfielder will fly in to west London from the Portuguese capital to complete the move on Saturday, 2 July after a dispute between his agent Hernan Reguera and super agent Jorge Mendes was finally resolved.

Whilst his representative reportedly negotiated the Portugal international’s five-year deal at Fulham, Mendes had been given exclusivity for the player’s discussions with English clubs by Sporting, when Wolves had previously shown an interest.

But after delaying the deal the two agents are now believed to have agreed to split a fee of around £2m once the deal goes through.
Wolves had looked into the possibility of signing Palhinha as a replacement for want-away midfielder Ruben Neves, but the hefty £75m price tag put on his head by the club seems to have deterred interest.

Fulham have also been heavily linked with a move for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Israel international forward Manor Solomon.
And Solomon is expected in London soon to complete his £7million move to replace Liverpool-bound Fabio Carvalho.

However the Cottagers look unlikely to make Neco Williams loan-spell permanent despite impressing last season.
They are reportedly deterred by Liverpool’s valuation of the Welsh full-back, wanting ££15m for his services, with Fulham pursuing other options, such as Wolfsburg’s Kevin Mbabu.

Fulham begin their new Premier League season against Carvalho and potentially Williams, as Liverpool visit Craven Cottage at lunchtime on August 6.