Transfer expert gets why club want £90m star

If West Ham are going to successfully attack the Premier League and Europa League in 2023/24, then a few new faces around the London Stadium is a necessity.

Even more so when you consider that club captain, Declan Rice, is more than likely to be wearing another team’s colours by the time of the opening day kick-off.

David Moyes is likely to know who he wants to bring in, but Rice’s sale will surely contribute to whether the club can afford the Scot’s targets or not.

David Sullivan has kept his cards very close to his chest in that regard since the Hammers won the Europa Conference League against Fiorentina, though the owner will surely understand that he needs to dig deep into club coffers in order to give Moyes and his squad the best possible chance of success.

One player that it’s believed the east Londoners are after is Fulham’s wonderful midfield talent, Joao Palhinha, however, their west London counterparts have slapped a ridiculous £90m fee on his head according to the Daily Mail.

That would leave the Hammers between a rock and a hard place, because it’s unlikely that they’d be willing to stretch to such a fee, even if they agree more than that for Rice.

Transfer expert, Dean Jones, absolutely gets why Moyes would be interested in Palhinha in the first place.

“I can totally understand why West Ham will be looking at Joao Palhinha because they should be looking at him,” he told Give Me Sport.

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“He has been one of the best defensive midfield players in the league over the course of the past season.

“They’re not the only team that have got an eye on him, but the question is whether he actually looks to leave Fulham for West Ham.

“If he was to have an offer from a Liverpool, Tottenham or Chelsea, then I think Fulham would find it really hard to hold onto him.”

There’s a long, long way to go before any deal can be concluded, and West Ham will surely hope that they can lower the asking price before doing business with Fulham.