German football journalist Christian Falk has made the claim that Arsenal have made a concrete approach over the potential transfer of Bayern Munich defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha.
The Portugal international previously shone in the Premier League during a spell with Fulham, and it makes sense that he’s now being linked with a return to England after a difficult spell in the Bundesliga since his move a year ago.
Arsenal seemingly have a strong interest in Palhinha, according to Falk in his CF Bayern Insider column, with Bayern also likely to let the 30-year-old go.
Bayern have targets of their own this summer, so player sales could be important for them to ensure they balance the books.
Joao Palhinha at his Bayern Munich unveiling (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)
Joao Palhinha to Arsenal?
“Arsenal made a concrete approach for Joao Palhinha, as we exclusively reported on CF Bayern Insider on Thursday,” Falk said.
“So there’s still the possibility of selling him this summer. The price is going down and down – €25m [£21.6m], perhaps €30m [£25.9m], but that’s it.
“Bayern Munich want to sell him. If he leaves, it’s also a chance for the club to go for Renato Veiga.”
Do Arsenal really need Palhinha transfer?
Arsenal have already signed Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard in midfield this summer, so it remains to be seen if they’re really likely to pursue a deal for someone like Palhinha as well.
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AFC struggled with injuries last season so might be keen to improve their squad depth, but it’s hard to see Palhinha being that tempted by the move to the Emirates Stadium as he’ll surely want to play more often.
Things haven’t really worked out for Palhinha at Bayern and it also doesn’t seem clear if Arsenal would really push that hard to bring him to north London.
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