João Palhinha Gonçalves is a Portuguese international who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Fulham FC and for Portugal’s men’s national team. The 28-year-old recently moved to London from Portugal’s premier division club Sporting CP Lisbon in 2022.
Fulham’s defensive midfielder was on the radar of German giants Bayern Munich this summer transfer window and nearly joined the Bundesliga champions, but the deal fell through at the last moment on the deadline day.
Who is João Palhinha?
Born in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, João Palhinha Gonçalves started his professional career at one of the most elite clubs in Portugal, Sporting CP, and eventually made his way up to the senior team from the youth set-up, making his debut in 2017.
Palhinha played 4 seasons with Sporting CP and was subsequently loaned out to several other clubs during his stay in Lisbon. In total, he made 95 appearances before moving to the Craven Cottage to join Fulham who had gained promotion to the Premier League.
The 28-year-old got his first national team call-up in 2021 accounting for 22 national caps for Portugal. He was a regular at the Portugal national team camp including in UEFA EURO 2020 and FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
In August 2022, João Palhinha debuted for Fulham FC against Liverpool and made his first Premier League appearance at the age of 27, proving to be a solid addition to Marco Silva’s squad at Craven Cottage. He has scored one goal in total 8 appearances for Fulham in all competitions, this season.
Following an impressive brief stint in the Premier League, the defensive midfielder managed to attract German giants Bayern Munich who made a formal offer to the midfielder and had all the formalities completed prior to his signature on the contract. Even Palhinha flew to Munich to join the team.
However, the deal collapsed in the final moments as Fulham couldn’t find a suitable replacement on the deadline day, thus, João Palhinha had to return to London. Nonetheless, on his return, Palhinha signed a long-term contract with Fulham until 2028. Although Tuchel’s side is still interested in bringing him to Munich, the German giants will have to wait till the January window to make a move.
Robbie Savage backs giant replacement for Fabinho
Former Welsh international and Football pundit, Robbie Savage believes that João Palhinha is a perfect fit for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and has urged the Merseyside boss to sign him in the next transfer window ahead of Bayern Munich as a perfect replacement for Fabinho who joined Al-Ittihad this summer.
Robbie said, “He’s a very good player. He was going to Bayern and the move fell through. Fantastic player. Liverpool has transitioned well in those areas, there is more dynamism in there, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister are good acquisitions, recruitment has been good and I think that has gone under the radar really. But I think Palhinha would be a fantastic fit for Liverpool.”
Savage reckons that he could be a solid addition alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai into the midfield of the Reds. Rumors have it that Liverpool are also interested but have not considered placing any formal offers yet.
