Joao Palhinha has already clarified stance on his future amid Arsenal and Liverpool links

Joao Palhinha has been the subject of interest from both Arsenal and Liverpool ahead of the January transfer window - and the midfielder has already addressed any potential move away from Fulham.

Palhinha was on the verge of joining Bayern Munich last summer, only for the move to fall through in the final hours of transfer deadline day.

The Bundesliga side are still thought to be keen on bringing the Portugal international to the Allianz Arena, but they are expected to face competition from the Premier League.

That's according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who told Kick earlier this month: “What I can confirm about Palhinha, this was around the media in recent days, is that there are also English clubs interested in Palhinha.

“One of those clubs is Arsenal. It is true that Arsenal appreciate the player. There are some people at the club who consider Palhinha a very good player. It’s one of the players they discussed internally."

It remains to be seen whether the Gunners or Liverpool will make a move for the 29-year-old, who will reportedly cost between £70-80 million after he signed a new five-year deal at Craven Cottage in September.

However, Palhinha has already addressed his future, believing he can go even "higher" during an interview with Portuguese outlet O Jogo.

"I don’t know what will happen in the future," he said. "Obviously, it’s really affected me and my family, but that’s all in the past, I don’t want to think about it too much.

"It’s a great source of pride, you know what happened. In my life everything that has happened has been for a reason, I like to think of it like that,”

"The future will tell me whether what happened was really what had to happen or not, but only the future will show me that."

Palhinha continued: "I want to keep going the way I’ve been going, nobody has given me anything throughout my career, and everything I’ve achieved is down to my worth, my work.

"I hope it stays that way. I’m 28, but I know I can go higher and I’m looking to the future with that ambition."