Liverpool will not be making a move for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha next month according to new reports. And by not signing the player, Owen Hargreaves claims they are ignoring a talent who is good enough to win them the Premier League title this season.
Palhinha has been one of the best ball-winning midfielders in England since joining Fulham from Sporting 18 months ago for £20million. The 28-year-old is now worth at least double that amount, and Transfermarkt value him at £47million.
Palhinha has made at least 25 more tackles than any other Premier League player this season and Hargreaves, who himself used to be a tireless defensive-minded midfielder, thinks the Portugal international could be the difference between a top-four finish and title glory.
Speaking on Premier League Productions in late October, he said: “I think they are missing one player and that’s a defensive midfield player. I think if Palhinha plays for Liverpool, then they can win the league. He is that good.”
However, according to This Is Anfield, Liverpool will not pursue a deal for the Portuguese in January. The report says Jurgen Klopp has no plans to sign a holding midfielder in the winter transfer window.
They have lost just one of their 16 matches until now, a controversial defeat away at Tottenham. No team has conceded less goals than their 15, which is the joint-best defensive record with Arsenal, who they host at Anfield on Sunday December 23.
Klopp has meanwhile confirmed he does not have any plans to sign a centre-back in January, with Joel Matip out for the season with a knee ligament problem. He said: “It has to be the right player. Tell me a club who wants to sell a top, top centre-half who could play for Liverpool?
“We still have four centre-halves which is absolutely alright. Other clubs don’t put them under the Christmas tree for us and say: ‘Take it and use it as long as you need it.’ I didn’t really think about it [buying a centre-back in January]. I don’t think so to be honest.”
Alexis Mac Allister has been deployed in the No 6 role this season despite largely playing as a No 8 for Brighton before his move to Anfield in the summer. On top of the fact Mac Allister has made the position his own, the report claims any move for Palhinha – who nearly joined Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day – would cost at least £70m.
That, combined with his age which is outside of the usual bracket Liverpool go for, puts him out of range for the Reds. Instead it appears Klopp will instead continue to trust Mac Allister and back-up Wataru Endo as his go-to defensive midfield options.
Despite the lack of a natural holder in the squad, Liverpool are firmly in the Premier League title race. The Merseyside club host rivals Manchester United at L4 this Sunday and go into the weekend a point clear of Arsenal at the summit.
