Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha looked like he was 100 percent on the way out after his briliant start to life at N17 withered away and he became exposed for a lack of quality on the ball. But like so many others at Tottenham, new manager Roberto De Zerbi got the most out of Palhinha during the Premier League relegation battle.
By the end of the season, Palhinha was one of the most important players on the team and even more beloved than before. His Matchday 38 performance against Everton to seal Spurs safety in the English Premiership was his real feather in the cap, as he scored the winning goal and delivered a monster class in the midfield both as a defensive player and even on the ball.
Despite De Zerbi publicly proclaiming on multiple occasions his desire to keep the Portuguese international permanently from his loan deal with German giants Bayern Munich, it appeared Sporting CP had thrown a wrench in the plans with Palhinha more interested in a return to his native Portugal.
Tottenham still hold all the cards
However, top transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has different information from the major outlets in Portugal, who are potentially overly slanted towards the LIsbon based giants. Romano states that based on his information, Joao Palhinha has a "very good" feeling with Roberto De Zerbi and is actually giving his main preference to Tottenham Hotspur over Sporting CP right now. Sporting are only in the picture if Spurs refuse the deal.
That makes much more sense, because it is clear that Palhinha was loving his football at Spurs under De Zerbi, like so many others changing his opinion and outward emotions with an actual coach as compared to Igor Tudor and Thomas Frank. Plus, it is obvious that since Tottenham hold a 25-30 million euro buy back clause for Palhinha with Bayern, they are the ones with the official right of first refusal; Sporting can't just come in and steal the player from out of nowhere.
But if Palhinha wants to go, Tottenham cannot and are not going to hold him against the will. So while, officially, the ball is in Spurs court, Palhinha does ultimately decide his future. As Fab is saying though, it appears Palhinha wants his future to be with Spurs, a massive club that are still massive even without European football to boast of next season. The Palhinha case remains in Spurs favor.
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