Tottenham might have taken Joao Palhinha for granted
Tottenham Hotspur would not have survived the Premier League relegation battle last season without Joao Palhinha, as the defensive midfielder signed on loan from mighty Bayern Munich stepped up his performances to a degree even higher than the promising start from which he fell from. Palhinha was elite defensively and improved in terms of his progression on the ball, and his winning goal against Everton on Matchday 38 proved vital in helping Spurs secure Premier League survival.
Roberto De Zerbi was clearly impressed with the way Palhinha played, and he told everyone who would listen that he was 100 percent going to keep the Portuguese international in his team next season. But that did not actually end up happening, as the Italian manager had to go back on his word with his dreams of signing both Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali for a combined 185 million pounds.
While Fernandes has clearly been worth it already and Tonali is starting to show the quality that made De Zerbi absolutely smitten with his fellow Brescia native, Tottenham Hotspur could have honestly made room for Palhinha and definitely have to be missing the stalwart defender and veteran leader off the bench right now.
Joao Palhinha is outplaying Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall
There's no way any Tottenham fan can watch how Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall have played so far this season against the likes of Brentford, Nottingham Forest, and even Charlton Athletic and say that Palhinha would not be helping Tottenham to a greater degree than these two.
It would have been preferable for Spurs to sign Pallhinha, even at the fee Bayern Munich were asking for, than let him walk to Benfica and instead keep Gallagher around. Spurs could have sold Gallagher for what they would be buying Palhinha for, and they would have ended up with a more productive player who actually offers something to the club.
Tottenham need real characters in their XI, and while Gallagher isn't a bad guy, he doesn't have that factor about him that Palhinha does to win the ball ruthlessly and even score when needed. Palhinha has more power behind him, and with a combined 11 tackles and interceptions through just two games and 141 minutes of action on the pitch in the Portuguese top flight, the defensive production is also badly missed by Spurs.
The fact that Tottenham are missing Palhinha already is not a good sign, and it is a reminder that every other midfielder besides Rodrigo Bentancur and Mateus Fernandes needs to be doing a lot better right now.
