Jacob Steinberg: West Ham board back Moyes with funds to sign £50m Joao Palhinha

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West Ham United boss David Moyes is set to make a move to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham in the summer.

According to the Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg, the West Ham board are set to keep faith in David Moyes and back him to the hilt financially with a move to sign Joao Palhinha, amongst others, in the summer transfer window.

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A recent report claims that West Ham were prepared to pay £40 million for the 27-year-old, although Fulham will demand closer to £50 million.

Hammers boss Moyes desperately needs to bolster his defensive midfield ranks at the London Stadium this summer, with Declan Rice set to move on.

And Palhinha is clearly one of the names on the Scot’s agenda…

Jacob Steinberg: West Ham board back Moyes with funds to sign £50m Joao Palhinha

Steinberg reckons that the Scot will have the full support of the Hammers board this summer, and one of his first port of calls will be to prise the Portugal international away from Craven Cottage.

Palhinha is a top-class player and would be a very strong signing for the Hammers if we manage to get this one done.

I have to say though, £50 million would be far too much money for us to spend on the Portuguese midfielder. £30-40 million would be as high as I would go.

In 34 Premier League appearances since joining Fulham, the 27-year-old has scored three goals and has averaged 4.2 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 1.7 clearances per match. He has made 36.3 passes per match on average and has recorded a completion rate of 83.1% (Who Scored).

Joao Palhinha is a truly fantastic defensive midfielder and would be a super signing for West Ham. He has already proven that he possesses all of the attributes needed to succeed in the Premier League.

As mentioned earlier though, the Hammers shouldn’t be paying £50 million for the Fulham man, especially given the fact that he’ll be 28 next month.

Moyes needs to be smart about his summer recruitment, and splashing out so much money on Palhinha will not be the way to go. However, if we can get him for say £35 million, I think that will be a deal worth pursuing.

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