Fulham superstar Joao Palhinha has been reflecting on the interest from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window and whether a move is likely to happen in the future.
Palhinha was speaking on The Fulham Fix Podcast and addressed a number of topics.
The Portuguese international revealed that he could have made the move to Craven Cottage at a much younger age.
He admits he was approached by Fulham for a trial when he was 17 but ended up choosing to stay at Sporting CP instead.
It’s a decision he’s probably glad he made considering where he is in his career right now.
Ever since his move last summer, Palhinha has established himself as one of the club’s most important players and one of the Premier League’s most impressive midfielders.
Palhinha’s performances last year encouraged Bayern Munich to make a move for him right at the end of the transfer window.
He was in Germany ready to make the switch but a replacement couldn’t be found in time before the transfer window shut.
The 28-year-old has now spoken about the experience and shared whether he could still make the move in the future.
Every Fulham supporter will hope he can resist the move to the German giants, but few would begrudge him for taking the step up to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Palhinha discusses failed Bayern Munich transfer
Asked about the end of the summer window, Palhinha said: “I feel I’m content because I’m playing. I’m playing, I’m doing my job, I’m focused here.
“I had the opportunity a couple of months ago when this happened, it’s something that nobody can point the figure to me and say that you don’t respect, it never happened because I always did my work here.
“I respect everyone, the staff, my teammates, my history with the club because I don’t want to screw up what I’ve built here. They’ve given me a lot of effort.
“But I can’t lie, of course, it’s the opportunity of my life that happened. For me, if something like Bayern happens in your life, you can’t think of anything else.
“In football, we are always fighting to achieve. For me, I grew up to dream of this kind of opportunity. I don’t know if it’s going to happen again or not.
“I just want to make my job like I’ve been doing, keep improving because I know I have much more to improve and what needs to happen, it’s going to happen.
“I don’t like to think about the past because life has showed me that everything in my life has happened for some reason.”
Talk of a transfer for Palhinha to Bayern in January is already being discussed and the club need to be prepared in case they receive an offer they can’t refuse.
The main problem in the summer is Fulham didn’t seem ready for the interest shown in one of their best players.
They failed to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic properly and are suffering as a result.
If they make the same mistake with Palhinha then Marco Silva’s side will be in serious trouble.
However, it’s encouraging to hear Palhinha still wants to protect his Fulham legacy and he genuinely sounds like he cares for the club.
Anyone who has watched him this season certainly can’t question his commitment to the cause.