Fulham ‘still plan to SELL Joao Palhinha with new contract not changing Bayern Munich transfer exit in January’

FULHAM are reportedly still planning on selling Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich despite him signing a new contract.

The Portuguese star was set to join the Bundesliga giants on transfer deadline day until the move collapsed.

Palhinha, 28, was at Bayern and was even believed to have posed with a club shirt.

Fulham were unable to sign a replacement, with Manchester United's Scott McTominay reportedly the favourite to arrive at Craven Cottage.

This meant that the club pulled the plug on Palhinha's move to Bayern.

The midfielder has since signed a new deal with the Cottagers.

Fabrizio Romano, however, has that Bayern still want to sign Palhinha and will move for him in January.

The transfer guru has also suggested that the midfielder's new contract was "key" after the drama on deadline day.

He continues to suggest that Fulham are still planning on selling Palhinha for a "huge fee" next summer.

Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel believes that his squad is still "thin" despite the arrivals of high-profile stars such as Harry Kane, Kim Min-jae and Konrad Laimer.

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Palhinha has been backed to still make the move to Bayern, with his agent brother Goncalo suggesting that the transfer has merely been  "postponed".

He said: "They didn't kill the dream, they just postponed it.

"Very proud of my brother and the player I represent."

Tuchel has also been asked whether his side could return for Palhinha in the future.

He said: "I have no opinion on that. There's no point in thinking about it now. He plays at Fulham and we play here without him.

"In winter we have to see. Things change sometimes, you can’t predict that."

After signing his new contract, Palhinha said: “I feel happy. A lot of history happened these few weeks for me, you heard a lot of things about my future, but I’m just focused on my work at Fulham.

“I always have 100 per cent commitment with this club, I have all the respect for the club, for the fans. Since the first day, they supported me a lot, and me and my family felt this since the first moment that I arrived here.

“I have a lot of respect for everyone here in Fulham and I am ready to start again, to give all my best, and I want to achieve good things.”