West Ham United may have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha with the Portuguese forced off the field in the Cottagers’ pre-season win over Brentford with a shoulder injury according to the Daily Mail.
The Irons are reportedly one of a number of clubs interested in the 28-year-old, who Fulham value at £60million, but any potential move from Craven Cottage has been thrown into doubt by what appears to be a dislocated shoulder.
After battling for a loose ball in the middle of the park, Palhinha fell to the ground in agony before walking slowly down the pitch with his arm in a makeshift sleeve made from his shirt and manager Marco Silva did not play down the severity of the injury after the game.
As quoted by the Daily Mail, he said: “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good, tomorrow [Monday] he has a scan, hopefully it’s not a long-term injury.”
The injury comes just a day after reports suggested Liverpool were also interested in securing Palhinha’s services, but it remains unclear whether a move will happen if the midfielder is sidelined.
Time to look elsewhere?
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West Ham and David Moyes have made their admiration for Palhinha clear throughout this transfer window and their interest is understandable as they look to replace Declan Rice, but this injury may just be their signal to look elsewhere.
The Portuguese would be ideal for this role, but his price has only risen in recent weeks and £60m is a much higher fee than the Irons had initially thought.
With the start of the Premier League season just weeks away, the Hammers need midfielders to come in quickly to make an impact and if Palhinha’s injury is as serious as it seems, he won’t be able to have that effect.
Moyes has had plenty of other midfield targets on his radar, including Juventus’ Denis Zakaria and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, and this latest hiccup in his pursuit of Palhinha could be the telltale sign to suggest it’s time to move on to different targets.
In other West Ham news, the Irons remain interested in German defender Jonathan Tah
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Source: West Ham United target forced off with injury in pre-season
