REPORT: Tottenham working to sign Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich
Most of the time transfer rumors are fun, and cool. Sometimes they’re a bit of a drag, or they just make no damn sense. Like this one — according to the Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur are working on signing 30-year old Bayern Munich defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha on a permanent transfer.
Look, I’m not going to hide my feelings about this rumor or sugarcoat it — this is dumb and a bad idea, and I would feel pretty disheartened about Tottenham’s entire recruitment structure if this turns out to be true. Yes, Palhinha is a true defensive midfielder destroyer, a desperate need in the squad last season under Ange Postecoglou, and one of the roles that everyone has been clamoring for in this offseason. Yes, he was pretty good when he played at Fulham a couple of seasons ago. If we were interested in signing the 27-year-old Palhinha that played at Fulham, that might change the calculus for me.
But Palhinha is 30, just moved to Bayern last season for £42m, and they are now apparently desperate to get rid of him after just one year in Munich, mostly because he’s been pretty much crocked since8 the moment he set foot in Germany. Palhinha played less than 1000 minutes and had just six league starts for Bayern last season in all competitions while dealing with numerous injuries, and he’s only getting older. Signing Palhinha would also likely mean one or both of Yves Bissouma or Rodrigo Bentancur are out of the club, and while I agree both of them should probably be sold trading in one or two 27-year-old midfielders for a crocked 30-year-old midfielder doesn’t feel like a particularly smart move.
Even he’s on form, Palhinha is a limited player — a good tackler, but he doesn’t do much beyond that, and he’s already heading into his declining years as a midfielder. A loan would be one thing, but Joao Palhinha is not Luka Modric — signing him to a multi-year permanent contract would not only be a dramatic shift from Spurs’ past transfer dealings but likely a fairly expensive one unless Bayern are so desperate to get him out that they’re willing to eat a lot of shit on his transfer fee with three years left on his contract. Palhinho is said to be on wages of about £170k/wk, instantly making him one of Tottenham’s top earners.
I hate this rumor and I hope it’s just Palhinha’s agent trying to drum up a market for him.
Premier League rivals make first move for Tottenham striker target
Newcastle have had a bid rejected by Brentford for Yoane Wissa.
The battle for Brentford striker Yoane Wissa is heating up, and Newcastle have made their first move for the Tottenham target.
We’re edging towards a mass exodus in west London this summer in the aftermath of our appointment of Thomas Frank. The Bees have also lost skipper Christian Norgaard to Arsenal and star attacker Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United, leaving novice new manager Keith Andrews with a daunting challenge in year one.
There had been suggestions that Brentford would be unwilling to lose both Mbeumo and Wissa off the back of their excellent 2024–25 campaign as a tandem. Together, the pair combined for 39 Premier League goals, having seen Ivan Toney jump ship for Saudi cash the previous summer.
Newcastle have first bid rejected for Tottenham target Yoane Wissa
Frank’s appointment sparked rumours of several reunions in N17 this summer, and Wissa remains on Spurs’ radar. However, any pursuit of the DR Congo international is likely to depend on the future of Richarlison, with Dominic Solanke pencilled in as the starting centre-forward.
There’s certainly an interest in Wissa, but competition is rife for the 28-year-old’s signature off the back of a career year. Nottingham Forest had a £25m bid rejected earlier in the window, and David Ornstein reports that Newcastle have now been rebuffed by Brentford, having also offered £25m.
Sky Sports’ Keith Downie understands that a second bid from the Magpies is imminent, believed to be worth £30m plus add-ons.
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