Arsenal is conducting “serious negotiation” to recruit Bayern's Joao Palhinha midfielder this summer, according to German sources.
After a relatively silent start on the transfer market, Arsenal has started accelerating with a series of activities in recent days. The contracts of Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard have been completed.
The Gunners are also pursuing deals such as Valencia's midfielder Cristhian Mosquera and Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, and are said to have reached his personal agreement with the Crystal Palace striker Eberchi Eze.
Despite filling the void left by Jorginho and Thomas Partey with Zubimendi and Norgaard, Arsenal still left the possibility of continuing the middle line.
According to Bild (Germany), Arsenal expressed great interest in Joao Palhinha and almost had a “blockbuster” deal before Bayern entered the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 campaign.
The source said Palhinha is in Arsenal's high priority target group in midfield, and the specific figures were given during the negotiation, with the goal of bringing the former Fulham star back to the Premier League.
However, up to now, the two sides have not reached an agreement, forcing Arsenal to consider other options to enhance the depth of the squad for coach Mikel Arteta.
Inter Milan is also closely monitoring the situation of Palhinha, while there are other suggestions from England, Italy, Spain, Türkiye and Portugal in recent weeks.
However, Palhinha's biggest dream was to stay and succeed with Bayern. However, the Bild newspaper said that a really attractive offer from a big team like Arsenal could make the 30 -year -old midfielder think again about the future.
Palhinha moved from Fulham to Bayern in a hit deal worth £ 47.4 million 12 months ago, but his first Bundesliga season was affected by many injuries.
Currently, the Portuguese midfielder is competing in the midfield of Bayern with Leon Goretzka, Aleks Pavlovic, Joshua Kimmich, Konrad Lainer and rookie Tom Bischof. Palhinha's contract with Bayern is still 3 years.
In an interview with Sky Germany after Portugal's victory over Germany at the UEFA Nations League last month, Palhinha shared that he intended to discuss the future with the Bayern leadership.
However, he also affirmed his willingness to fight to win the position in the squad of coach Vincent Kompany after the beginning not very smoothly at the Bundesliga: “I still have 3 years with Bayern. I need to talk to the coach and sports director to know if I have a chance or not. If not, I will continue.
My dream is success here. I was very hard to get to Bayern. Nothing in life is easy. I am proud to have come here. Nothing to be angry at all. I won a title with Bayern and hoped to be more. Regardless of the future, I will always fight. “