West Ham United have been linked with transfer interest in signing Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha this summer if captain Declan Rice departs the club as expected.
Hammers captain Declan Rice has been heavily linked with a big money exit from the London Stadium this season, with Arsenal believed to be in pole position to land the 24-year–old, while Chelsea and Newcastle United have also been linked with the 41-time England international.
Reports from the Guardian have suggested that should Rice depart the London Stadium this summer as expected, the club have identified Fulham’s Joao Palhinha as a primary target to replace Rice in the middle of midfield.
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Palhinha has been one of the stars of Fulham’s side this season that has sealed a 10th-placed finish in the Premier League this term, the Cottagers’ best finish to a top-flight season in 11 years when they finished ninth in the 2011/12 campaign.
With 144 tackles in the Premier League this season, his first in English, Palhinha has 24 more tackles in league matches this season than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A), with a tackle success percentage of 70.6%.
Palhinha’s duties as a defensive midfielder and his ability to put in challenges at such a frequent rate have come at a price, and should West Ham opt to sign him, they would have to accept one of his drawbacks - his discipline.
The 27-year-old Portuguese star has started 34 of Fulham’s 37 league matches so far this season, with the three he missed all being due to suspension.
Palhinha missed a 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle United on October 1 and defeats to Brentford and Arsenal in March due to yellow card suspensions. On 13 bookings, not only is he the most-booked player in the Premier League this season, he is also joint-top for league bookings across all of Europe’s top five leagues this season.
West Ham would therefore be inheriting someone with a reputation of getting booked and missing games through suspension.
In contrast, West Ham have gone an entire season directly without seeing any of their players pick up a suspension for reaching five or ten yellow cards before the suspension parameters reset.
Only in Europe have they been affected by suspensions. Defender Angelo Ogbonna and midfielder Flynn Downes have both missed European matches this term due to picking up three yellow cards.
West Ham have the best disciplinary record in the Premier League this season, sitting joint-lowest for yellow cards on 43 from their 37 matches, but unlike Manchester City tied with them, are one of six clubs not to have had a player sent off in the Premier League this season.
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