Fulham 'favourites' to sign Andre amid new Joao Palhinha doubts | OneFootball

Fulham are the Premier League side leading the race to sign Brazilian starlet Andre Trindade when the January window opens for business, transfer insider Dean Jones revealed to GIVEMESPORT.

It comes after months of speculation surrounding the midfielder, who has been linked with a number of top clubs across the Premier League and beyond. A combative midfielder, who has already been capped by the Brazil national team, Fulham will be licking their lips at the prospect of signing Andre in January.

But Jones has questioned what that could mean for existing Fulham players, who could be more likely to leave the club following Andre's arrival.

Had things panned out differently for Andre this season, there's every chance he'd have already signed for a Premier League club back in the summer transfer window. Liverpool had submitted an offer for the midfielder back in August, but it was swiftly rejected by Brazilian club Fluminense.

Reported to be in the region of £24 million, Fluminense were less than impressed by the Merseyside outfit's offer, who were keen to keep hold of him until the end of their season. Just as well they did, because Fluminense went on to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana - South America's equivalent of the Europa League.

But now, with the Brazilian season having already finished and the January window on the horizon, talk of a Premier League switch has once again sparked up, with Fulham the club tipped to be in the driving seat for his signature.

Fulham pushing move for Brazilian starlet Andre

An unlikely suitor, given the pedigree of other linked clubs, should Fulham pull off the signing of Andre, it will be a huge coup for the west London outfit. And if reports are to be believed, it looks like they're edging closer to making it happen.

Fulham, who have been tracking Andre's progress since the turn of the year, have now put themselves in pole position to sign the anchorman, according to FootballTransfers. It's claimed the Premier League outfit have been pushing hard to convince Andre that Craven Cottage is the best place for his development, while suggesting to him it could act as a stepping stone to one day move to a top European club.

However, while the excitement around Andre's potential arrival is strong, there are suggestions that it could mean Fulham are about to lose a key player of their own, with Joao Palhinha mooted as being on the move. The Portuguese star looked destined to join Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, and now, with Andre close to signing on the dotted line, it's suggested Palhinha could be heading for the exit door himself.

Dean Jones update - Andre

Issuing an update to GIVEMESPORT about the likelihood of Andre signing for Fulham, transfer insider Jones revealed the length to which they've been going to in an attempt to convince the midfielder's entourage. Suggesting they've flown representatives out to Brazil to take part in negotiations, it appears Fulham are doing as much as they can to sign Andre in January:

All stats from Transfermarkt

Andre price tag revealed amid Fulham rumours

If Fulham do win the race and come to an agreement with Andre around a move to the Premier League, the capital club will still have to conclude negotiations with Fluminense over his price tag. It's claimed by the same FootballTransfers report that Fluminense now want £34 million to let him leave in January - a £10 million jump on the offer Liverpool presented back in the summer window.

If that is the case and Fulham part with £34 million in the winter market, Andre will become the club's all-time record transfer, eclipsing the £27 million spent on Jean Michael Seri in 2018.