Overall, the transfer strategy from Tottenham Hotspur has been poor, and whlie that is nothing new for Spurs supporters to moan about, it frustratingly seems like Spurs are getting worse and worse in the market. After splurging on the inept Conor Gallagher this past winter transfer window as their one big move to stabilize a hemorraging squad, the relegation threatened Lilywhites are being linked to more mediocre options like Andrew Robertson and Marcos Senesi for the upcoming summer transfer window.
Tottenham are loading up on mediocrity and players with no future upside or resale value, abandoning Daniel Levy's strategy of at least targeting players with some opportunity for growth. Though Levy frustratingly did not spend big on actual superstar level talents, Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham are giving big wages to the ilks of Gallagher.
Now, Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg is reporting that the Tottenham disaster duo are looking to seal another veteran signing in the midfield this summer. After flipping and flopping during the 2025/26 season and seemingly being out on him, Spurs are now apparently interested in keeping Bayern Munich loanee Joao Palhinha permanently.
Tottenham still want to keep Joao Palhinha
Plettenberg says that Spurs have not ruled out triggering the 25-30 million euro option to buy in Palhinha's loan contract, though they are significantly more likely to sign Palhinha if Bayern lower their asking price (just as they did last year for Levy's much better signing, Mathys Tel). Apparently, Tottenham Hotspur really do want to keep Palhinha permanently, and they are just hoping they can renegotiate a smaller fee for the Portuguese international.
Given Joao Palhinha is no longer starting games or even playing significant minutes for a Tottenham midfield that has moved past his inability to progress the ball or do much of anything offensively, it would be outright bizarre for Spurs to keep him. And knowing the kinds of midfielders Roberto De Zerbi generally likes, it would be even more bizarre for the edict to keep Palhinha to suddenly come from the new manager, who has not even bothered to utilize the former Fulham man,
Keeping Palhinha has disaster written all over it, and seeking a discounted price for a veteran backup is rarely the right move. Either Tottenham think Palhinha is worth 25 million euros or they don't think he's worth playing for Tottenham, because any experienced player valued less than that is just not at the club's level.
And, well, Palhinha is not at Spurs level. There is a reason why even Thomas Frank, boring as he was, phased the Bayern Munich man out. More to the point, there is a reason why another top club in Bayern didn't want Palhinha to stay in the first place.
Add us as a preferred source on Google