Tottenham Hotspur made one of the best moves of the summer 2025 transfer window in the Premier League by bringing Joao Palhinha back to England after a doomed one-year spell with Bayern Munich. Although Spurs have an option to buy Palhinha, the transfer comes with no obligation, as Palhinha is, effectively, a free stopgap to upgrade a midfield that badly needed steel.
With strong displays against PSG and Burnley followed by legitimate Man of the Match level dominance at the Etihad against Manchester City, Palhinha has been a revelation for Spurs alongside Pape Sarr, who could very well end up being the breakout midfield star of the 2025/26 Premier League season under Thomas Frank.
Though Tottenham are currently after attacking midfield talents to upgrade their playmaking in light of James Maddison's torn ACL and multiple high-profile transfer snubs at the position, there is opening for one more deeper-lying midfielder to make Spurs a true Premier League powerhouse.
According to a report from Alex Crook and Anton Stanley of talkSPORT, Manchester United star defensive midfielder Kobbie Mainoo remains unsettled at the club and is open to leaving Old Trafford in the final week of the summer transfer window.
Tottenham need to compete with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool in midfield
Tottenham have been loosely linked to Mainoo before this window, and if they send Manchester United a legitimate offer, he could be theirs. Mainoo and Man United have not made headway over the last several months on a new contract, and the talented young player barely seems to be on the mind of manager Ruben Amorim's dysfunctional midfield "system" that continues to yield no tangible results for the Red Devils.
Spurs could be the ones to rescue Mainoo and play him in a dynamic, top-class midfield. At least, they would be top-class with the 2023/24 verion of Mainoo, who took the Premier League by storm as a teenager, won the FA Cup for Man United, and immediately became an England national team starter.
Imagine a Tottenham midfield with Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Sarr, and Kobbie Mainoo all rotating in it behind a shiny new playmaker. Even Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool would have to reckon with Tottenham, and if Spurs want to reach that level of being a Premier League title contender, then these are the midfields they need to compete with.
Signing the young and energetic Mainoo would put Tottenham in that bracket, and if there's any chance that Amorim and Manchester United are foolish enough to entertain offers for him this transfer window, then Spurs had better jump up and make an offer.