Fulham could be in the market for a new midfield player in the near future.
Indeed, with Joao Palhinha hoping to sign for Bayern Munich this summer, the Whites may soon need to replace the Portugal international.
Of course, Palhinha almost left Fulham 12 months ago, so the Whites should be ready for this outcome this summer, and according to Ben Jacobs, speaking to Fulham Fan News, the Whites may already have a replacement lined up.
Fluminense’s Andre is a player Fulham have been said to be keen on for quite some time, with TBR Football confirming that talks with the players agent have recently taken place once again.
According to Jacobs, Fulham had actually pre-agreed a deal to sign Andre in January for if Palhinha had left, and the journalist has now suggested that the Whites could go back in for the Brazil international.
Fulham pre-agreed an Andre deal in January
Jacobs spoke about the £25m man and Fulham agreeing a deal to sign him in January.
“I mention Andre because he’s still available and Fulham don’t need to do any work on the negotiation,” Jacobs said.
“It didn’t fall through because Fulham couldn’t agree a deal, it fell through because it was contingent on spending that on Andre if Palhinha goes.
“My understanding was that it was all lined up but it was denied until the point Palhinha would’ve gone.
“There’s no reason Fulham wouldn’t revisit that. He wasn’t just a target they considered, they flew over and pre-agreed a deal and were very willing to move if they had that Palhinha money to spend.
“If Palhinha does leave it’s that Andre-type player and maybe Andre specificially that would make a lot of sense to get over the line and quickly.”
Andre would be a risk
Fulham would be taking a serious risk here if they replaced Palhinha with Andre.
Make no mistake about it, Palhinha is Fulham’s most important player, and to replace him with a player who has never kicked a ball in one of Europe’s top leagues is a risk.
Yes, Andre looks a talent, but there’s so much risk attached to this potential signing, especially when you’re replacing a player who is as important as Palhinha.