Tottenham Preparing £45m Bid to Sign £200,000-a-Week Star

Tottenham are preparing a £45m bid to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha, journalist Sebastien Vidal has claimed.

The Europa League winners are reportedly readying an approach for the Portuguese international and have already held talks with Bayern over a potential deal this summer.

Spurs are believed to have identified Palhinha as their next midfield target following the Morgan Gibbs-White blow, and are ready to step up their interest with an initial bid.

Palhinha, who joined Bayern from Fulham last summer, is under contract with the Bavarians until June 2028.

Tottenham Keen on Joao Palhinha

Readying an approach for the 30-year-old midfielder

According to Vidal, Tottenham are ready to move for Palhinha after initial talks with Bayern, with a bid worth £45m now being prepared:

Palhinha endured an injury-hit first season at Bayern, during which he made just nine starts across all competitions, along with a further 15 appearances off the bench.

He also struggled to break into Vincent Kompany’s starting XI at the Club World Cup, where he made just one appearance, in the 1-0 loss to Benfica.

Palhinha, who earns around £200,000 per week at Bayern, would bring proven Premier League experience to North London this summer, having made 68 top-flight appearances during his time with Fulham.

He spent two seasons at Craven Cottage before his departure last summer and was named Fulham’s Player of the Season for 2022/23.

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Morgan Gibbs-White was offered a lucrative Nottingham Forest exit, but it wasn’t Tottenham or Man City

Nottingham Forest have kept hold of Morgan Gibbs-White despite Tottenham and Manchester City’s interest, but before Spurs, he was offered a lucrative move away from England.

Gibbs-White signed a new Forest contract to keep him at the City Ground until 2028, ending a summer of speculation that must’ve unsettled the Forest squad.

His Forest teammates thought Gibbs-White would move to Man City after Pep Guardiola’s side showed strong interest at the end of last season, but when that deal didn’t materialise, it was Tottenham who looked to have the signing of the Englishman sealed.

In the end, though, Nuno Espírito Santo helped convince Gibbs-White to stay. However, behind the scenes, Evangelos Marinakis had to combat a unique proposal to keep hold of his star man.

Morgan Gibbs-White had interest outside of England

Described as a record deal for the club, Gibbs-White now earns £150k per week at Forest, comfortably making him the highest-paid player in City Ground history.

However, he could’ve been earning significantly more if he had exited the club, as the riches of Saudi Arabia were circling the England international.

According to Ben Jacobs, Al-Ahli had enquired about Gibbs-White before the transfer window opened, but Marinakis must’ve swiftly rejected it as the interest seemed to go no further.

Of course, Champions League football would’ve been the main selling point of a move to either City or Spurs, but it would’ve been interesting to see if the significant financial incentive of a switch to the Saudi Pro League would’ve been something that Gibbs-White seriously considered.

It seems unlikely, though, as a move to the Middle East could’ve seriously impacted his chances of starring for England next summer.

Morgan Gibbs-White wouldn’t ruin England World Cup chances

Gibbs-White has now featured four times for England, having made his debut under Lee Carsley in 2024. It’s fair to say that he hasn’t made a lasting impression on the squad yet, though, with Thomas Tuchel less than a year away from picking his World Cup group.

Tuchel hasn’t been convinced by Gibbs-White yet in his cameo appearances, competing with some of the nation’s top stars for minutes in that attacking midfield role.

Therefore, moving out to the Middle East wouldn’t have done him any favours as he would’ve been away from the manager’s thinking while others continued to perform in top European leagues.

Tuchel has shown that he will consider players in the Saudi Pro League when he picked Ivan Toney in his latest squad, but given the competition in Gibbs-White’s role, he’ll need to have a stellar season with Forest in the Premier League and Europe to catch the German’s eye.

Gabby Agbonlahor stunned by something Morgan Gibbs-White has now done after Tottenham saga

Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White has committed his future to the football club, despite the best efforts of Tottenham Hotspur.

Evangelos Marinakis was fuming with Daniel Levy for trying to get around a £60 million release clause, with the Forest owner threatening legal action.

Marinakis hailed Gibbs-White after he agreed to extend his current deal by a year and help the Reds maintain his valuation and, crucially, remove any release clause.

Forest fans are naturally ecstatic about the new deal for Gibbs-White, and with Anthony Elanga being sold to Newcastle, this does lift the mood around the City Ground among the fans this summer.

• READ MORE: Chris Wood reacts as Morgan Gibbs-White signs a new deal

Gabby Agbonlahor stunned by Morgan Gibbs-White decision

It would appear that not everybody is impressed with Gibbs-White’s commitment to the Forest cause.

Agbonlahor has expressed his bemusement at the decision made by the Forest number 10 and has suggested that he wanted to join Tottenham.

Clearly, Agbonlahor hasn’t kept up to date with the journalistic claims made in the aftermath of his new deal, with something not adding up for the former Aston Villa man.

He told TalkSPORT: “It was bizarre. I think it just seems a bit, the reason behind it, the release clause was leaked. I don’t understand it. If there is a release clause in a contract and then the player wants to go, I’m just baffled by it. I’m not being funny, but if you want to stay at a football club, you don’t sign a three-year contract, do you? You sign a five-year contract, don’t you? More. So that says to me that this time next year, he will probably be gone. I don’t see him there for the long term.