Fulham reject opening Bayern Munich bid for Joao Palhinha

Fulham have rejected an opening offer from Bayern Munich for midfielder Joao Palhinha, 90min understands.

The Portuguese international has emerged as Bayern's top midfielder target after the Bavarian giants missed out on deals for Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, and they have received encouragement that a deal is there to be done.

Bayern have now made their first move by offering €55m (£47m) for the 28-year-old, while sources have also told 90min that they have agreed personal terms with the player on a five-year deal.

Fulham have turned down that offer down but talks will continue between the two clubs in order to find a resolution. Bayern are confident they can get a deal over the line, but 90min revealed earlier this week that a deal worth at least €70m (£60m) would likely be needed for Fulham to agree to any move - that's the figure they turned down from West Ham earlier in the window.

Despite turning down Bayern's bid, Fulham are doing their due diligence on potential replacements and are scouring Europe for some potential last-gasp arrivals. One of the names on their list is PSV Eindhoven's Ibrahim Sangare, who is a player Nottingham Forest are trying to take to The City Ground.

Monaco's Youssouf Fofana, Benfica's Florentino Luis, Manchester United's Scott McTominay, Tottenham duo Tanguy Ndombele and Pierre-Emile Hojberg are also on the radar, while a host of free agents are also under consideration. Those include Yann M'Vila, Nampalys Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko, all of whom have past Premier League experience.

LISTEN NOW TO 90MIN'S TALKING TRANSFERS PODCAST

On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss whether Mohamed Salah could actually join Al Ittihad from Liverpool, Bayern Munich's hunt of Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha, the ongoing Sofyan Amrabat to Man Utd saga & more!

If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!