Wolves turned down the chance to sign Joao Palhinha before Premier League rivals Fulham snapped up the Sporting Lisbon midfielder to the tune of £18 million, as reported by the Express and Star.
Ok, yeah, there are real ‘oh I didn’t fancy her anyway’ vibes about this one. But think about it this way.
If you’d asked Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters a couple of weeks away if a new deep-lying midfielder was a must this summer, they’d have responded like Steven Toast stuck on repeat.
At the time, Ruben Neves was expected to depart. Ditto Leander Dendoncker and Joao Moutinho. Flash forward to early July, however, and offers for Neves have not exactly been flooding in. Ditto Leander Dendoncker. And there is still some confidence around Molineux that Moutinho will stick around for another season at least.
As such, the Express and Star believe that Bruno Lage is prioritising a midfielder of the more attacking variety. Wolves, the report adds, would have beaten Fulham to Palhinha’s signature had the club’s hierarchy not decided to walk away from a player who’s been right at the top of their radar for at least two years.
Instead, they opted to turn their back. Whether that proves to be a mistake is a question for another day.
Fulham sign Palhinha after Wolves snub
Fulham, after protracted negotiations, finally unveiled Palhinha at Craven Cottage on Monday after a potential photo-finish turned into a one-horse race.
“Joao Palhinha has excelled in Portugal playing both club and international football,” says vice-president Tony Khan. “He’s been one of our top targets in this window.
“While there were other prominent clubs aiming to secure his signature, we’re thrilled Joao chose to come here and that he wants to play under our great coach Marco Silva.
“We believe that Joao will be a valuable addition to strengthen the squad.”
Assuming a number eight is Wolves’ priority now, rather than a ‘number six’, news of Pedrinho’s move to Atletico Mineiro will be received about as warmly as a flock of clothes moths backstage at a Viviene Westwood fashion show.
Wolves held ‘advanced’ talks with the then-Sporting Lisbon forward a few months ago.
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