Tottenham Hotspur have one clear transfer priority above all others at this point. If they want to ensure that they can compete at the highest levels of both the Premier League and Champions League in the 2025/26 season, then they are going to need to sign at least one competitive, starting-caliber defensive midfielder behind the, hopefully duo, of James Maddison and Morgan Gibbs-White in the No. 10 spot.
Dream transfer targets like Adam Wharton who are ascending and proven in the Premier League are highly unlikely, so Tottenham are going to have to scour more underrated options. Given how valuable defensive midfielders are these days, most of those options are already out of the bag, with Leeds snapping up the Bundesliga's Anton Stach and Club World Cup superstar Richard Rios moving over to Portugal's Benfica.
Joao Palhinha is heading towards the wrong side of 30, but the former Fulham star is a proven Premier League commodity who plays for one of the world's most prestigious clubs, Bayern Munich, and can be signed easily and cheaply by Tottenham this summer transfer window.
Tottenham don't even care about midfield
However, it looks like Tottenham aren't moving with any urgency for Palhinha - or any other defensive midfield option - for that matter either. According to new information from Football.London Tottenham beat reporter Alasdair Gold, Tottenham would actually have to sell off a center midfielder before they can sign Palhinha up to any deal, whether a loan or a permanent transfer.
That report seems to affirm what is clearly unfolding before Tottenham supporters, and that is the sad reality that Spurs don't have any real gusto towards acquiring a new midfielder. And as of right now, Palhinha is the only real option Spurs have an intention of pursuing this summer.
The implicit meaning of the report is that until Tottenham can offload Yves Bissouma, who has very little interest around European football currently, they won't be able to sign Palhinha. Tottenham evidently don't value the defensive midfield position highly, and they may even be OK with making the critical error of heading into the 2025/26 season with no real changes at their biggest position of need.
As happy as Thomas Frank should be about Spurs supporting him with Mohammed Kudus and, hopefully, Morgan Gibbs-White, Spurs supporters should be incensed at the lack of movement elsewhere in the squad. And the GIbbs-White situation will end up being an even bigger net negative in the minds of the fans if he doesn't ultimately arrive either.