Rijo Sam Daniel
Manchester United dealt Joao Palhinha transfer blow as Wolves take the front seat
According to the Portuguese outlet Correio do Manha (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United have been dealt a blow as Joao Palhinha seems set to join Wolves in the summer transfer window. He has been linked with a move to Old Trafford as one of the potential options for the holding midfield role, but that seems out of the cards, going by this update.
Man United are searching the market for a defensive midfielder to solve their issues in the centre of the pitch that was noticeable last season. Palhinha, who has enjoyed quite an impressive rise for club and country over the last few years, has been touted as one of the potential choices, but it seems like Wolverhampton Wanderers have won the race for his services.
The Wanderers are currently looking to complete the final few details left in the deal to reach an agreement with Sporting over the transfer. The former seem set to pay an amount of £17million for the Portuguese international, which seems like a steal in the currently inflated market.
Man Utd to rue this chance?
If this news is to be believed, then it is quite puzzling as to why we have not pipped Bruno Lage’s side with a higher offer to win this pursuit. After all, we are desperate for midfield additions this summer, with Nemanja Matic leaving on a free transfer ahead of the next campaign.
That means we have no natural options left in the pivot position in our ranks right now as Fred and Scott McTominay are more like box-to-box midfielders even though they can fill in Matic’s place. Palhinha, who has played a key role for Portugal and Sporting, would undoubtedly have been a great option for us.
Furthermore, our delicate situation calls for the need to make use of any market opportunities that we can find this summer. Palhinha seems to be one such case, considering how low his asking price is in the current market. Not to mention, The Red Devils also have to use their budget to bolster other areas in the team, making it even more puzzling how they supposedly lost out on the midfielder.
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Take Frenkie de Jong’s case, for example, as ESPN state that Barcelona have demanded a whopping €100million for his signature, which would have massively dented our budget for this summer. While one could say that de Jong is a better player than Palhinha, signing the former should not come at the cost of our ability to improve other positions.
It remains to be seen if this latest piece of information is true or not in the coming days. The Manchester side must do their best to scupper Wolves’ plans by making a late effort as the feasible price makes Palhinha an attractive proposition indeed as of now.
