Sources close to West Ham have confirmed a £40m bid from West Ham for Joao Palhinha was tabled and rejected by Fulham.
Insiders say that Fulham are commanding a fee as high as £80m but that is completely unrealistic.
While talks are ongoing there seems little appetite to pay much more that has been offered and the Hammers have other targets if Fulham dig in their heels over price.
It is thought it is going to take a bid in the region of £60m for Fulham to even consider accepting and West Ham are not prepared to get to anywhere near that figure and £45m including add-ons is the maximum they would be willing to invest.
Fulham made the £20m signing of Palhinha from Sporting Lisbon on five-year contract with a 12 month option last summer
The 28-year-old, with 21 caps for Portugal, was voted Fulham’s Player of the Season for 2022/23, winning by a landslide 58.6% of the vote.