Fulham could be fighting a losing battle in their chase for Sporting midfielder Joao Palhinha, with the Portugal international favouring a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to reports from A Bola and Record - via Sport Witness.

The 26-year-old is a wanted man this summer, with numerous reports suggesting at the end of May that Wolves wanted to bring Palhinha in as a Ruben Neves replacement.

However, with their interest still live, the Championship title winners looked set to potentially hijack the Midlands club's move for the 14-cap international central midfielder, according to a report on Friday from the Daily Mail.

A fresh update has emerged though from Palhinha's native Portugal, with Record stating that the Sporting man wants to link up with Bruno Lage, favouring his project over Marco Silva.

It will come as a blow to Fulham, who have reportedly offered an €18 million fee to Sporting for Palhinha, but it is not better than Wolves' alleged bid, which is an initial €20 million and an extra €5 million in bonuses.

There is apparently a 'pre-agreement' between Wolves and Sporting for the player, according to the report, but an official bid is not yet on the table, although it is only a matter of time.

The Verdict

With the amount of midfielders Fulham have been linked to, it's natural that a few of them would not end up signing for the Cottagers.

And it looks as though their move for Palhinha is a bit too much of an ambitious one, with Wolves all-but winning the race with the player's mind made up.

No official proposals are on the table yet, but it may be best now for Marco Silva to just move on to other targets.

Of course there still could be twists and turns in the story, but as far as likely incomings go at Craven Cottage, Palhinha wouldn't be up there as one.