Sporting CP have been fully expected to sell Palhinha this window, asking for a fee in the region of 15 million euros, but the defensive midfielder remains a Sporting player as we enter September.
Both Palhinha and teammate Marcos Acuna have both been on the transfer list for the Lisbon club, the asking price the same for both, as Sporting look to raise funds to sign Braga striker Paulinho, who had such a strong season last campaign.
Sporting manager Ruben Amorim knows Paulinho well, having managed Braga for a few months last season before making the move to Lisbon, though Braga are holding out for 30 million euros for his services, the value of his release clause.
Acuna continues to train alone with a move to Sevilla an increasingly probable scenario - but Palhinha has returned to training with the first-team squad and is back available for selection for Amorim, with proposals from Russian outfit CSKA Moscow and Al-Nassr turned down.
CSKA came forward with an offer of 12 million euros, a value that fell below the asking price of Sporting CP, while a move to Russia is not the preference of Palhinha, who is holding out for a move to England.
Indeed, neither CSKA nor Al-Nassr are clubs that are of significant interest to Palhinha, hence why he has returned to training with Sporting, but negotiations with both clubs continue. Nevertheless, he still hopes for a move to England and, most likely, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Jorge Mendes may be able to make that a reality.
There is a strong possibility that any transfer away from the club will not happen until later on in the window, with Braga maintaining a clause that gives them part of the economic rights of his sale until nearer the end of September.