Manchester United are reportedly unlikely to pursue a move for Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha in the January transfer window.

Palhinha was on the verge of joining Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day this summer, but a big-money move to the Bundesliga giants collapsed at the eleventh hour despite flying to Germany to complete a medical.

Fulham boss Marco Silva claimed that deadline day was possibly "one of the toughest days" of Palhinha's life after missing out on a move to Bayern, and the 27-year-old subsequently missed the Cottagers' heavy 5-1 loss at Manchester City in the Premier League last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel expressed his sadness for the deal not being completed in time, and he remains unsure as to why the transfer fell through.

It remains to be seen whether Bayern will reignite their interest in Palhinha in January, while other clubs could enter the race for his signature.

Both Liverpool and West Ham United were credited with an interest in the former Sporting Lisbon man earlier this summer, with the latter understood to have seen a £45m offer rejected by Fulham.

Man United were also linked with the Portugal international, who still has four years remaining on his contract at Craven Cottage.

According to Football Insider, the Red Devils were 'very keen' to sign Palhinha in the summer transfer window, but they decided against stepping up their pursuit due to Financial Fair Play.

Erik ten Hag is said to be a "big fan" of Palhinha and "would have loved" to have lured him to the red side of Manchester.

Nevertheless, Man United instead completed the loan signing of Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, and they have the option to sign the Moroccan permanently next summer.

Now that Amrabat has made the move to Old Trafford following a drawn-out negotiation process, the report adds that Man United are unlikely to pursue a move for Palhinha in January unless they raise significant funds from player sales.

The future of midfielder Donny van de Beek is currently up in the air after he was left out of Man United's 25-man squad for the Champions League.

Van de Beek has fallen down the pecking order under Ten Hag and it remains to be seen whether he will secure a permanent or temporary exit away from Old Trafford in the coming weeks, or remain as a backup option with the Red Devils.

Meanwhile, Scott McTominay was linked with a move away from Man United throughout the summer transfer window and allegedly attracted late interest from Fulham as they eyed up the Scotsman as a possible replacement for Palhinha.

Jadon Sancho is another who faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford, as he recently claimed on social media that he has been made a "scapegoat" by Ten Hag after being dropped from the matchday squad that lost to Arsenal last weekend.