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Bayern Munich’s loss could still be Manchester United’s gain as they have reached a stalemate in negotiations over two players.
The Bundesliga giants came agonisingly close to signing Fulham’s João Palhinha last summer until the deal broke down on deadline day, with the player already in Germany wearing the Bayern shirt and preparing for a photoshoot.
That time the agreed price for the Portuguese international was €67 million, with the Cottagers pulling the plug because they could not find a replacement.
This time around, Bayern have already put an offer of €42 million on the table that Fulham have rejected.
According to Sport Bild, “After the chewing gum poker last year… Bayern are said to have run out of patience: they want to improve the offer again, but the pain threshold is said to be around 45 million plus bonus payments.”
If Fulham are still looking for something approaching €67 million, unless those bonus payments are generous, it is starting to look like the Bavarians once again could miss out on a deal that looked odds-on to transpire.
And with United looking for a quality midfielder to add to their ranks, the prospect of adding the 28 year old for somewhere around the £60 million/£50 million mark could be very tempting, especially if they can sell Casemiro, who is widely tipped to move on, for a reasonable amount.
Meanwhile, another star who the Germans have been tipping their Dreiecks Hut at is Paris Saint Germain’s mercurial talent, Xavi Simons.
The 21 year old is considered expendable at the Parc des Princes and spent last season on loan at RB Leipzig, where he scored eight goals and notched eleven assists.
Sportbild say that “Simons is considered one of the rising stars in European football … However, Bayern would have to pay a transfer fee that is close to that of record transfer Harry Kane (30/around €100 million).”
United, too, have been credited with an interest in the Dutch prodigy, but they too would probably be unable to stump up £85 million or so, unless they were to sell a big star such as Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes.
Of the two, Palhinha is the one who looks the better fit for United’s needs, but with the player’s heart still set on flying back to Bavaria, at this stage there is merely a glimmer of hope that he could be driving up the M1/M6 instead.
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