João Palhinha is on the verge of returning to the Premier League, and this time, it’s not to Fulham but to the Lillywhites of London. Softfootball reports that the Portuguese midfielder has already arrived in London ahead of a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur from Bayern Munich.
According to German transfer expert Florian Plettenberg, the deal between Bayern and Spurs includes an option to buy for around €30 million.
Palhinha is said to have passed his medical, and all that’s left now is for official confirmation, the sports journalist made this revelation via his official X account.
He tweeted:
“Joao #Palhinha is a new player for Tottenham and he’s already in London. Everything is done and signed, and Palhinha is keen to feature for Tottenham in their friendly against FC Bayern on 7 August in Munich.
“Tottenham have secured an option to buy next summer, set at €25m guaranteed. With potential add-ons through bonuses the option can rise to up to €30m.
“Loan fee: up to €5m including bonuses. Full salary of up to €10m gross/year will be covered.”
It’s a surprising twist, considering Bayern paid over €50 million to sign him from Fulham just last summer. But since arriving in Germany, the 29-year-old struggled to cement his place in the starting XI.
Under coach Vincent Kompany, opportunities have become even more limited, and it became clear that he wasn’t part of the manager’s long-term plans.
For Tottenham, this is a calculated move. Their new boss, Thomas Frank, knows Palhinha well from his time at Brentford. He wants a proven defensive midfielder, and Palhinha fits that profile perfectly. He’s physical, experienced, and doesn’t shy away from challenges a type of player Spurs lacked last season.
In other developments, Spurs have had a busy window. They recently beat Arsenal 1-0 in a preseason game in Hong Kong, with Pape Matar Sarr scoring the only goal. They’ve also brought in Mohammed Kudus from West Ham and Mathys Tel from Bayern.
Their pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White didn’t quite work out, but adding Palhinha could prove a smart fallback, especially with the big departure of legendary winger Son Heung-Min just before a Champions League campaign that many believe they don’t deserve to be in it.
During his time in England, Palhinha made 79 appearances for Fulham and earned a reputation as one of the toughest tacklers in the league. Now, he has a shot at redemption and relevance in North London.
If this move works out, don’t be surprised if Spurs trigger that permanent clause and make him a full-time addition.
