West Ham could be about to make a big Joao Palhinha mistake unless David Moyes moves on

West Ham would be absolutely crazy to pay more than £40 million for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha this summer.

The Sun claim that West Ham have just had a £40 million bid rejected for Joao Palhinha.

Hammers boss David Moyes needs to sign a top-class defensive midfielder in the summer transfer window.

However, I think the Scot needs to walk away from the Palhinha chase right now…

There is absolutely no way that the Hammers should be paying anything more than £40 million for the Portuguese midfielder.

There are other players available with not just more quality, but youth on their side as well.

Here’s the kicker…I’m not actually saying that Fulham are wrong to be demanding so much money for Palhinha.

The 28-year-old is a vital player for them, and he still has four years remaining on his deal at Craven Cottage. Fulham have the option to extend his contract by a further 12 months as well, so they have absolutely every right to demand what they want for the Portugal international.

In other words, he’s priceless to them.

However, there is far better value to be had for West Ham in this market. Sofyan Amrabat, Khephren Thuram and Ibrahim Sangare could all be signed for less than Fulham’s £60 million asking price for Palhinha (Daily Mail).

£40 million would be the absolute maximum that I think West Ham should be paying for the hard-working and tenacious tackling midfielder.

West Ham have to be smart with how we replace Declan Rice and in my opinion, signing Joao Palhinha would not be the right way to go.

Moyes needs to move on and eye up other targets now.

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Palhinha has long been linked with a move across London and the Hammers now have room to manoeuvre to secure a potential big-money signing following the £105m sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.

The Sun journalist Jack Rosser reported on 17 July that the Hammers had a bid of around £40m rejected by the Cottagers and according to Sheth, speaking live on Sky Sports (18 July), Fulham are not encouraging offers for a player who they value at around £80million.

He said: “I just wonder now if West Ham United have got some sort of encouragement that Joao Palhinha may be interested in going there, simply because West Ham have gone in with a bid now.

“It’s worth £45million, it’s been rejected and we’re told that Fulham are not encouraging offers for a player who they value at around £80million.”

With West Ham United now holding a considerable war chest available following the departure of Rice over the weekend, they now have plenty of wiggle room in the transfer market.

However, that can have its disadvantages as clubs now know what kind of transfer war chest West Ham United will be dealing with meaning they can demand huge money for potential targets.

That is what Fulham are taking advantage of right now, and the £40m bid placed for Palhinha was always going to be rejected given his undeniable qualities and importance to the Cottagers.

It’s certainly going to take a bid in the region of £80m-plus for Fulham to even consider listening to and given his stark qualities and suitability to fulfilling the gaping Rice hole, and while the Portugal international represents a stunning option to pursue, it’s unlikely the Hammers will look to shell out such a fee on one player.

With alternative target Edson Alvarez potentially available for around £35m-£40m, David Moyes will be urging the West Ham board to identify the Mexican as a more viable and attainable replacement for Rice. And he’d be a perfect solution too.