Tottenham loanee Joao Palhinha is winning plenty of admirers since joining Thomas Frank on a temporary basis, and parent club Bayern Munich are watching his progress with keen eyes.
Joao Palhinha shining on loan at Tottenham
Spurs’ productive business relationship with Bayern in recent years has yielded another success story thus far in Palhinha, amid reports that Lilywhites legend Harry Kane’s contract includes a £54 million release clause.
Amid mounting speculation that Kane could re-join Tottenham after leaving North London for Bavaria in 2023, especially amid Frank’s public ‘welcome back anytime’ message to the Englishman, Palhinha is already at N17 and seriously enjoying life.
The 30-year-old scored an acrobatic overhead kick to open the scoring in Spurs’ 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday, adding to his ever-growing collection of excellent performances after a 2024/2025 to forget at the Allianz Arena.
Palhinha, after pining for a move to Bayern over what seemed like years, endured a nightmare debut season under Vincent Kompany.
His campaign was marred by fitness issues, illness, suspension and a lack of opportunities — resulting in the Portugal international making just 25 appearances in all competitions with no goals, assists or contributions of note.
Appearances
25
Goals
0
Assists
0
Bookings
2
Red cards
1
Minutes played
986
via Transfermarkt
Since making the move to Spurs, Palhinha has stood out as, arguably, their best signing of the summer so far.
Frank has started the ex-Sporting Lisbon star in all but two of Tottenham’s eight matches in all competitions, with Palhinha dominating midfield and getting on the scoresheet in his full start away to Man City.
Spurs ran out 2-0 victors at Eastlands, largely thanks to Palhinha’s imperious display, and the midfielder currently ranks fourth in the Premier League for most tackles made per 90 on average, according to WhoScored.
Palhinha has added both steel and dynamism to Frank’s midfield, with ex-chairman Daniel Levy managing to negotiate a £27 million buy option in his loan from Bayern.
Bayern Munich make Joao Palhinha stance clear amid electric Tottenham start
According to journalist Ben Jacobs earlier this week, Palhinha is keen to seal a permanent Tottenham move next year, and was personally insistent on the option to buy.
“The original agreement had an option to buy, which is set at £27million. That was something that both Tottenham and the player were very keen on factoring in as part of the deal,” Jacobs told GiveMeSport.
“Palhinha, in particular, viewed the loan as being contingent, in many ways, on having that option to buy because he would like to be permanently back in the Premier League.”
Now, as per German news outlet BILD, Bayern have made their stance crystal clear on Palhinha amid his electric start to life at Spurs.
The website reports that, despite his excellent form right now, Kompany’s side won’t lose any sleep over Palhinha leaving, and are actually hopeful that Tottenham will sign him permanently next year.
The Portuguese is not in Kompany’s long-term plans, with Bayern preferring he seals an indefinite move away to get him off the wage bill and bring in some much-needed funds.
Palhinha is rolling back the years under Frank right now, with his current form reminiscent to that of his time at Craven Cottage.
The ex-Fulham star was “absolutely sensational” under Marco Silva, and judging by his quality in the Tottenham engine room, London appears to be agreeing with him.