There’s a couple of reports in the Portuguese media today which continue the confidence over Fulham signing Joao Palhinha from Sporting.
A Bola is the most detailed and sure of the situation. They say a final agreement, with all the details concluded, will be reached ‘ in the next few hours’.
That will see Fulham paying around €20m for the midfielder. He’s expected to sign a contract for four seasons, and earn €2.5m a year. Football salary figures in Europe are often quoted after tax, although there’s no explicit statement of that here.
Once the agreement is concluded, Palhinha will return from his vacation in Dubai and travel to London to have his Fulham medical and to get to know the London club. Then everything else on the deal will be concluded ‘in the next few days’, so that timeframe would be looking at Tuesday or Wednesday for an announcement.
Wolves don’t even get a mention in the report, but a separate article from Jornal di Noticias could explain why they’ve seemingly let Fulham steal their deal. Ruben Neves’ exit has stalled, and there’s a chance he could sign a new deal with Bruno Lage’s side.