Tottenham aren't rushing into a decision regarding the future of João Palhinha, whom they could purchase outright this summer.
Palhinha has divided opinion since the get-go, with plenty having reservations over his limitations in possession—hence his struggles with the ball-dominant Bayern Munich. Those drawbacks have certainly manifested during his loan spell so far, but the experienced Portuguese international has also shown why Thomas Tuchel wanted him at Bayern in the first place.
He leads the Premier League with an average of 5.17 tackles per 90 minutes, and sits fourth with 7.11 ground duels won per 90. Spurs have a proper enforcer at their disposal, but Palhinha's partnership with Rodrigo Bentancur quickly came to typify Thomas Frank's risk-aversion that has particularly hindered the Lilywhites on home soil.
Apart from the impressive acrobatics, Palhinha has been pretty much what we expected him to be. A supreme tackler who struggles to get the ball forward, there is a trade-off with the midfielder. Is he worth it?
Tottenham delaying Palhinha transfer decision
There are undoubtedly folk who'd sign the 30-year-old up in a heartbeat. Tottenham have the option to buy Palhinha permanently for €25m (although the fee could rise to €30m if certain add-ons are matched), and according to Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg (via Hotspur Lane on X), we'll wait until the end of the season to decide whether to take that option up.
I think Palhinha has helped his case in recent weeks, with his stints at centre-back making us wonder why he's spent the overwhelming majority of his career in the middle of the park.
"João has been very important for us in many ways," Frank said recently. "To have a versatile player like him that can play the six, that outside centre-back also played one of the two [centre-back roles], which he did in the second half [against Manchester City]. It's very impressive, and he's part of driving the team."
Frank is obviously a big fan, and I'd be surprised if Palhinha wasn't signed permanently if the Dane survives until the summer. He's a profile Spurs have sorely lacked for years, but poor squad building in midfield has perhaps exacerbated his flaws as a No. 6 more than they should have done this season.
There's certainly value in keeping someone like Palhinha around, and we can only assume that his addition wouldn't compromise our hopes and dreams of landing a pure passer this summer. Moreover, the centre-back arc really intrigues me. I think that's where his future should lie in N17.