After reportedly wanting to sign him in the summer, West Ham United discovered the full array of talents that Fulham star Joao Palhinha possesses today.
Premier League pundit Don Hutchison was blown away by the 28-year-old Portuguese international during this afternoon’s 5-0 drubbing of their London rivals.
There have been very few weeks in Fulham’s all-time Premier League history as good as this.
Their form going into the international break was far from ideal and had Fulham fans looking over their shoulder.
For Marco Silva to have masterminded such a fast and impressive turnaround deserves a huge amount of credit.
The impact of Tom Cairney in midfield has to be noted as he’s provided a sense of control that’s been missing for some time.
Calvin Bassey looks much more comfortable on the left and Tosin Adarabioyo isn’t playing like someone who spent months on the sidelines with an injury.
However, after West Ham wanted Joao Palhinha this summer they might be rueing not offering Fulham a huge amount of money to bring him in.
Against a midfield that has been widely praised this season, Palhinha, Cairney and Andreas Pereira made light work of their opponents.
A trip to a Newcastle side plagued with injuries and struggling with playing every three days should fill Silva’s side with confidence.
Palhinha stars for Fulham against West Ham
Although the Portuguese international is synonymous with hard-hitting tackles and reading the game from the base of midfield, his first key input of the game was a moment of quality with the ball at his feet.
Fulham were searching for an opener and his cross from an inside-left position was whipped into the box.
Heavily outnumbered by West Ham defenders, Raul Jimenez latched onto Palhinha’s cross and gave Fulham a deserved lead.
Commenting on the first goal, Don Hutchison said: “A superb header but the cross in from [Joao] Palhinha was a world-class delivery.”
Goals from Willian, Tosin Adarabioyo, Harry Wilson and Carlos Vinicius completed the rout that saw Fulham move into the top half of the table.
The question now is how long can the Whites keep Palhinha at the club amid growing interest from elsewhere.
He’s absolutely essential to the way Marco Silva’s system works, with Harrison Reed and Sasa Lukic not quite up to the task of replacing him.
Every day that passes in the upcoming January transfer window where Palhinha is still a Fulham player is a good day.