Fulham have stepped up their pursuit of Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay this summer as Joao Palhinha continues to push for a move to Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich are close to agreeing to a £47.5million deal to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham, in what would be a record sale for the West London club. The Bavarian heavyweights had already made two bids this summer, but the Cottagers stuck to their valuation of the defensive midfielder and rejected both. Now, though, they have made a breakthrough in talks, having struck an initial deal worth £43.2m.
With Palhinha’s year-long saga about to end, Fulham have started their search for the Portugal international’s replacement. The Cottagers have reportedly revived their interest in Scott McTominay and started exploring a potential deal with Manchester United. The central midfielder almost completed a switch to Craven Cottage last summer, while former West Ham United boss David Moyes also tried signing him.
Man United are open to selling McTominay at the right price this summer as they look to fund their squad rebuild. However, a cut-price deal for the Scotland international shouldn’t be expected, even though he has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford.
Scott McTominay back on Fulham’s radar
Despite Man United’s struggles in the 2023/24 campaign, McTominay enjoyed his career’s most productive season with 10 goals. For large parts of this past season, he was deployed as a second striker by manager Erik ten Hag, where he was free to pick up spaces, link play and attack the box in search of goalscoring opportunities.
Last year, Fulham came close to signing the 27-year-old. However, a switch to Craven Cottage never materialised and he ended up staying at his boyhood club instead. The Red Devils remain in a strong negotiating position because they have the option of triggering a 12-month extension clause on his contract even as he enters the final year of his deal.
Palhinha and McTominay are very different profiles, so the latter should not be deemed as a direct replacement for the Bayern-bound player. As a result, Fulham are also contemplating on making a move for Manchester City misfit Kalvin Phillips, who endured a torrid loan spell with West Ham during the second half of last season. Following a lack of minutes at both Man City and West Ham over the last 12 months, Phillips missed out on a place in England’s squad for Euro 2024.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
