Tottenham will reportedly ‘need’ to do one thing before they can secure the signing of a Bayern Munich star who they have been looking at for a while.
Spurs have made some positive moves in the summer transfer window. The loan signings of Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso have been made permanent, while young players Kota Takai and Luka Vuskovic have been signed, and the marquee signing of Mohammed Kudus was made.
Tottenham are still on the hunt for more signings in different areas. Up top, they’d like to sign Yoane Wissa, who has recently left Brentford’s overseas training camp, and they also have an interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha.
Interest in Palhinha dates back to his Fulham days, between 2022 and 2024. According to football.london, the pursuit of the midfielder will not necessarily be straightforward.
Indeed, the report states Tottenham will ‘need’ to get ‘at least one’ central midfielder out the door before they can push through with their interest in Palhinha.
There are a number of options for potential sales in that midfield corps. Indeed, there are eight central midfielders in the senior squad: Archie Gray, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Alfie Devine.
The report mentions that Bentancur and Bissouma are both entering the final year of their respective contracts at Tottenham. That could open them up to being potential sale candidates.
It will not take a huge sum to land Palhinha, according to reports in Germany. After playing 17 Bundesliga games last season and 45 minutes in the Club World Cup, it’s believed the Portuguese will command a fee from £22-26million.
It’s said paying that sort of price for a 30-year-old would go against Spurs’ policy of only spending big sums on younger players.
As such, the report states that a loan with an option to buy will be a ‘more appealing scenario’ for the north London club unless the price drops.
It’s noted that they were interested in signing Christian Norgaard, who is 31 but cost just £10million plus add-ons.
In any case, Palhinha is said to be ‘one of a number of candidates’ to improve the holding midfield area at Tottenham, so if they decide not to go after him or can’t fund a deal, they might still be able to land another midfielder instead.
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