Fulham set eye-watering price for Palhinha transfer with West Ham wanting him to replace Arsenal-bound Declan Rice

FULHAM have set their price for star man Joao Palhinha amid interest from West Ham.

The Hammers are reportedly exploring the idea of signing Palhinha with Declan Rice looking increasingly likely to leave for Arsenal.

Joao Palhinha had a stunning first season for Fulham and is of interest to West Ham

West Ham are looking to replace captain Declan Rice who is being chased by Arsenal

But it won’t be an easy task to sign the Portuguese star with Fulham slapping a massive price tag on their prized midfielder.

According to the Mail Online, Fulham will demand a whopping £90million.

It’s suggested that West Ham are not willing to splash that much cash on the Portugal international, but could test Fulham’s resolve with an offer around £50million.

Palhinha, 27, only signed for The Cottagers last summer, but has impressed since his £20million transfer from Sporting Lisbon.

He made 40 appearances for Fulham in his debut season, scoring four times and racking up more yellow cards in the Premier League than any other player.

Palhinha was widely considered one of the top players in the league last season and was vital to Fulham’s success.

It is reported that Fulham have used West Ham’s £100million valuation of Rice as the benchmark for Palhinha’s price.

Rice has been the subject of two bids from Arsenal over the past week, but both have been rejected by The Hammers.

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The latest offer, which was understood to be £90million package, still fell short of West Ham’s valuation of their star man.

The Gunners are rumoured to be lining up a third bid for Rice, but could face competition from Manchester City who are also said to be interested in the England star.