Only Xabi Alonso’s epic start with Bayern Leverkusen this season is keeping Bayern Munich from riding high at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Even Harry Kane’s record-breaking scoring streak hasn’t been enough to see the Bavarians looking down at the rest of the German top-flight, such has been the brilliance of Leverkusen’s free-flowing football.
Bayern were always likely to strengthen mid-season in any event, and that their best hasn’t yet been good enough is even more of a reason to enter the market once it opens again for business.
On the final day of the summer transfer window, everything seemed in place for the Bavarians to acquire Fulham’s highly-rated midfielder, Joao Palhinha.
It’s even believed that the player had sorted official pictures of him in the Bayern kit, only for the deal to fall through at the 11th hour.
Palhinha noted how much it affected him, per O Jogo (h/t Sky Sports).
“I don’t know what will happen in the future. Obviously, it’s really affected me and my family, but that’s all in the past, I don’t want to think about it too much,” he said.
“It’s a great source of pride, you know what happened. In my life everything that has happened has been for a reason, I like to think of it like that.
“The future will tell me whether what happened was really what had to happen or not, but only the future will show me that.”
Fortunately for the player, it appears that all is not lost and the deal isn’t dead in the water.
“Of course, he is still on our radar. The club worked intensively with Palhinha in the summer,” Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund told BILD (h/t Sky Sports).
“I was there for the bit on the last, strange day of the transfer window, but you can’t say yet what will happen. We are generally exploring the market.”
Fulham appeared to have safeguarded their position with the offer of the new contract though it would appear unlikely that it will cause the move to fall through again, even if there may be a handful of extra hoops to jump through.