Tottenham Hotspur are reconsidering whether to sign Joao Palhinha permanently, talkSPORT understands.
Spurs have a £26m buy option in Palhinha’s loan from Bayern Munich, but he lost his place in Thomas Frank‘s starting XI in recent weeks.
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Palhinha could return to Bayern Munich after his loanCredit: Getty
The 30-year-old has made 20 Premier League appearances under Frank this season, scoring three times and grabbing two assists.
He found himself on the bench for Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home with Sunderland.
Although he made his way back into the starting XI during Spurs’ 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth, scoring a stunning overhead kick in the second half.
But there’s still uncertainty over the 30-cap Portugal international’s future at Spurs despite his brilliant goal on Wednesday night.
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Palhinha joined the north London club in the summer on a season-long deal with a view to making this permanent at the end of the season.
This seemed pretty assured until recently with fans souring on the idea.
Bayern Munich paid just shy of £50m to prise him out of Fulham in July 2024, but he lasted just one season in Bavaria.
They soon shipped him back to the Premier League and would cut their losses with a huge transfer hit if they do sell him for just £26m.
As it stands, it looks like he could be heading back to Bayern come the summer.
Tottenham’s transfer targets
talkSPORT understands that Spurs have seen an £8m bid for Brazilian defender Souza rejected by Santos.
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Frank is already under pressure after some lacklustre Spurs performancesCredit: Getty
The Brazilian club are looking for nearer £15m for the 19-year-old and the north London club are readying a second offer.
Spurs are looking to bolster their full-back position with Destiny Udogie having been sidelined since December and Djed Spence deputising on the left.
talkSPORT’s verdict
talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook said: “I’m not convinced this is the type of signing that necessarily will placate the Tottenham fans. I think they’d like more senior, more proven players to come in.
“It’s an interesting scenario with Joao Palhinha, who is obviously on loan from Bayern Munich.
“It looked a few weeks ago that it was a foregone conclusion that Tottenham would trigger the buy option in his deal of £26 million, but he’s lost his place in the team recently.
“I just sense there’s a bit of trepidation now for Tottenham about making that move permanent. So maybe other Premier League clubs could nip in.”
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Palhinha has scored four goals in all competitions, including a bicycle kick against Doncaster in the Carabao CupCredit: Getty
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And he scored an even better one against the CherriesCredit: Getty
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan added: “They did spend big in the summer. They spent £200m. They’re the ones that told everybody it’s a new dawn.
“They’re the ones that told everybody that they want to see more trophies. They’re the ones that wanted a freer activity in the transfer market. There you go then. He’s your manager.
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“You’ve taken out Daniel Levy and you want to criticise or have a go at him and perhaps try to talk his shareholding down so you can do a different deal with him on his Enic shares.
“The sporting director is gone. So I feel a bit sorry for Thomas Frank because he’s in a framework where I’m not sure he’s loved by the current ownership because they weren’t the ones that employed him.”