Mark Schwarzer claims £50m player will almost certainly leave after he’s linked to Arsenal

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Pundit Mark Schwarzer has said that Joao Palhinha will almost certainly leave Fulham this summer amid interest from Arsenal and other teams.

Speaking on the Gegenpod Podcast, Schwarzer was full of praise for the Portuguese international.

Few players have had as big an impact at their clubs this season as Joao Palhinha.

Signed for £20m from Sporting CP, Palhinha helped Fulham achieve a remarkable top-half finish.

The battling midfielder was the best tackler in the league and scored a couple of brilliant goals too.

Arsenal have been linked with Palhinha as they look to improve their midfield options.

The £50m-rated 27-year-old could be an alternative to Declan Rice in a holding role for the Gunners.

Schwarzer has claimed that he would be very surprised if Palhinha didn’t move this summer with Arsenal keen.

Fulham will be hoping he spends one more season at Craven Cottage given his importance to the side.

Schwarzer predicts Arsenal target Palhinha will move this summer

When selecting their Team of the Season, the Gegenpod panel initially selected West Ham captain and fellow Arsenal target Declan Rice.

However, Schwarzer wasn’t happy with that choice and said: “Yeah, I’m going to put [Joao] Palhinha in there instead of Declan Rice.

“I know that’s a big call but I’m going to do that.

“I think he’s been exceptional for Fulham. You can’t underestimate how big a signing he has been for Fulham this season.

“I mean, I would be surprised if he stayed at Fulham in the summer, I would be very surprised if there’s not a list of clubs who will be lining him up because I think he’s a really, really good player.

“[He’s] underrated in a lot of ways.”

Fulham fans won’t appreciate Schwarzer suggesting Palhinha is almost certainly leaving this summer, especially with teams like Arsenal circling.

Marco Silva will be hoping for his side to kick on next year and having Palhinha in the side is essential to that.

If the Whites could bring in a large fee for the Portuguese, that would make their squad-building exercise much easier.

However, it’s hard to see them finding another player on the market who can do what Palhinha has done so well this year.

For Arsenal, he won’t be their first choice given their preference for Rice and Moises Caicedo.

They could do a lot worse than consider the rangy 27-year-old when thinking about progressing in the Champions League next year.