After just one year, Joao Palhinha’s time at FC Bayern is already coming to an end. The Portuguese player is moving to London.
Communication will be a little more difficult for Luis Diaz at FC Bayern from now on. On Thursday, his first real day in the service of the record champions, the Colombian, who speaks almost exclusively Spanish, spent most of his time alongside Joao Palhinha, who comes from Lisbon but speaks fluent Spanish.
Diaz understands most of what is said in English, but speaks very little himself. And now, with Palhinha, the last player who could communicate easily with the €67.5 million new signing is leaving Bayern.
However, Bayern did not sign Joao Palhinha as an interpreter, but as a soccer player for around €50 million. And as such, the recently turned 30-year-old has hardly left his mark. After finally making the move from Fulham to Säbener Straße a year later than planned and beaming with joy at almost every opportunity, little came together on the pitch.
Tuchel wanted Palhinha, Kompany didn’t need him
It took seven seconds for Palhinha to make his first tackle, his core discipline, on his debut in Seoul (against Tottenham!). Thomas Tuchel had wanted to sign the national player as a holding six, but Vincent Kompany didn’t really need one the following summer. Palhinha didn’t fit into the Belgian’s pressing approach, played only sporadically and hardly at all in the Club World Cup.
An expensive mistake that has now come to a premature end. Although Palhinha had emphasized at every opportunity during the preseason that he wanted to keep his dream alive at Bayern and prove himself, he didn’t make the grade on the pitch. Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic or Leon Gorezka continued to be preferred in midfield.
Palhinha is set to fly to London on Friday to undergo a medical at Tottenham. The Spurs, who recently signed Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich for €35 million, are loaning the “Holding Six” for one season with an option to buy, and will also take over his full salary. Palhinha will be 31 next summer, so a future in Munich seems unlikely for the time being.
Incidentally, it won’t even be a week until we see him again. Palhinha will be back at the Allianz Arena on Thursday, but this time with Tottenham—against Bayern.
