What’s next for Joao Palhinha now that Tottenham has secured its Premier League status? The Bayern loanee can see himself staying—his coach is even more explicit.
Tottenham Hotspur will continue to play in the Premier League—and will Joao Palhinha continue with Tottenham Hotspur? The 30-year-old midfielder, who has been on loan from Bayern Munich to the Spurs for a year, is considering staying in London.
“Since my first day here, I’ve felt at home,” Palhinha is quoted as saying in the English media. “The fans, the spectators, a top club: Who wouldn’t want to play for Tottenham and stay here? I have everything I need here. But it’s like a marriage. All I can say is that I really want to stay here and have really enjoyed this season—even though it was a difficult one.”
On Sunday, Palhinha secured Tottenham’s 1-0 home win against Everton with a goal just before halftime, thereby ensuring the team’s survival in the league. Since this merely averted the worst-case scenario, the club under manager Roberto de Zerbi faces a major shakeup this summer.
Palhinha, who appeared in 33 of the 38 league matches (coming on as a substitute ten times) and had already scored a decisive goal on Matchday 34, could play a key role in this. “Yes, I want to keep him, 100 percent,” de Zerbi had already stated after the match. “We have to start with these people. Before we talk about the players, we have to talk about the people.”
Will the Spurs handle Palhinha the same way they did with Tel?
The Spurs could sign Palhinha permanently from FC Bayern via a buyout clause for 26 million euros, but they are likely looking to drive the price down—just as they succeeded in doing last year with Mathys Tel. Back then, too, they let the buyout clause expire in order to acquire the forward at a lower cost.
One thing is clear: Palhinha, who was signed from Fulham in 2024 at the behest of Thomas Tuchel for 50 million euros and given a contract running until 2028, has no sporting future in Munich. Under Tuchel’s successor, Vincent Kompany, he quickly fell out of favor before returning to England.
The chaos of the near-relegation season with three short-term coaches doesn’t seem to have deterred Palhinha. “Hopefully, next season will be completely different; I’m firmly convinced of that,” he says, believing the Spurs will soon be in a better position. “If we analyze the season, it will lead to a major improvement after the season.”
Almost exactly a year ago, the Portuguese international—who was not selected for the World Cup—had also spoken publicly, albeit prematurely, about staying in Munich (“I’m at one of the best clubs in the world; I’m eager to fight”). Bayern officials will certainly have taken note of his current signals with goodwill. They hope that the misunderstanding will end as painlessly as possible from a financial standpoint.
