Aston Villa ready to pay club-record fee for 27-year-old Chelsea, Man Utd target
Aston Villa are keen on signing the Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha at the end of the season.The 27-year-old Portuguese international has been a revelation since his move to the London club and he has established himself as a key player for Fulham.A report from Football Insider claims that Aston Villa are now ready to make […]
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Aston Villa are keen on signing the Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha at the end of the season.
The 27-year-old Portuguese international has been a revelation since his move to the London club and he has established himself as a key player for Fulham.
A report from Football Insider claims that Aston Villa are now ready to make a big money move for him. They are reportedly willing to pay £60 million for the midfielder at the end of the season. It would be a club record signing (previously Emiliano Buendia for £38m) for them.
They will face competition from clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Aston Villa must look to bring in a quality partner for Douglas Luiz at the end of the season and Palhinha will add physicality and defensive cover to their midfield. Unai Emery is looking to put together a formidable squad at the West Midlands club and signing a quality defensive midfielder like Palhinha will certainly improve the side immensely. His arrival would not only help shield the back four, but it would also allow the creative players to operate with more freedom.
Meanwhile, the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham need more depth in the middle of the park as well.
Chelsea will have to replace N’Golo Kanté adequately if he ends up leaving the club this summer. His contract will expire at the end of the season and the Frenchman has not signed an extension yet.
Liverpool will lose players like James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita on free transfers and they will have to bring in quality alternatives.
Manchester United need to bring in a reliable partner for Casemiro. Palhinha would be an upgrade on Scott McTominay and Fred.
As for Tottenham, they have not been able to rotate players like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg properly because of the lack of options at their disposal. Palhinha’s signing will allow Tottenham to rotate their midfield better and keep the players fresh.
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