The summer Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers target João Palhinha is attracting ‘echoes’ of English interest ahead of the January transfer window, according to A Bola.
Palhinha is enjoying quite the turnaround at Sporting this season, and recently signed a new deal with the Portuguese league leaders.
The defensive midfielder spent the previous campaign on loan to Braga and found himself in the Sporting bomb squad upon his return.
At one stage, it was claimed the Lions would accept offers of €15 million (around £13.6m) as Leeds and Wolves circled.
But his sale is now ‘non-negotiable’, according to A Bola.
And the website adds that if the likes of Leeds and Wolves were to try and lure him from the Esatdio Jose Alvalade in January, Sporting would point to Palhinha’s buyout clause, which currently stands at €60 million (around £54.2m).
It is common knowledge that Leeds tried and failed to strengthen their options in Palhinha’s position before last month’s transfer deadline, with a proposed move for Michael Cuisance falling through.
In contrast, Wolves were able to recruit another Portuguese midfielder, Vítor Machado Ferreira, on an initial loan deal from Porto.
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