Tottenham weren’t the most active team in the summer transfer window. In fact, deadline day passed and there were still gaps in the squad. This is likely to impact the north London side as the season wears on. Yet they did make some shrewd moves in the off-season. Mohammed Kudus has proven an immediate hit for Thomas Frank’s side. Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel saw their loan moves made permanent to swell the ranks, while Xavi Simons is the marquee addition.
Granted, a left winger and additional cover at the back would have been welcomed, but a failure to address the latter is offset by the capture of Joao Palhinha. As Spurs sought to bring in a new number 6, the wishlist was topped by the likes of Adam Wharton to Angelo Stiller. The progressive pair would have been welcomed with open arms at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yet Spurs would have needed to spend big to convince Crystal Palace and VfB Stuttgart to cash in on their respective prized midfielder.
Palhinha, then, was seen as a safe option. Safe doesn’t always mean bad, however. The Portuguese powerhouse moved to Bayern Munich last summer yet struggled to break into starting XI for the German side. Indeed, the 30-year-old made just six league starts for Vincent Kompany’s Bundesliga-conquering side. Behind elite German trio Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlovic, that’s hardly a shock.
In addition, Bayern’s dominance meant they hardly required a ball winner. The Bavarian giants returned a 68.5% possession average in Germany’s top tier last term. It meant they were hardly on the backfoot, which in turn saw them concede the fewest shots per game (6.8) in the division.
That didn’t make Palhinha a bad player, rather a bad fit for the system that relied heavily upon midfield progressors in the form of Kimmich, Goretzka and Pavlovic. There just wasn’t the need for a player of Palhinha’s skillset in the side. For Spurs, though, he’s quickly become a necessity.
It’s no secret that Spurs were carved open far too easily under Ange Postecoglou last season. Nigh on every transition resulted in an opposition goal. They conceded the fifth most goals (65) as they finished 17th. With a little more consistency from the three promoted sides, they would have faced a relegation dogfight.
Under Postecoglou, they conceded the seventh most shots per game (13.7) and shipped eight counter-attacking goals; only Brighton (10) conceded more. There was a clear and obvious need for a player of Palhinha’s calibre in the squad. Is he the most glamourous name in world football? No. Will he help turn defence into attack with a single pass? Also, no.
Will he shield the Spurs defence with ruthless efficiency to protect the goal? It’s effectively second nature to Palhinha. Ahead of the return to domestic duties, only Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo (28) and Palace wing-back Tyrick Mitchell (27) have made more tackles than Palhinha (25) in the 2025/26 Premier League campaign. Only Caicedo (333) ranks higher than the latter for tackles (325) since his move to Fulham in 2022, this while taking into account a year in Germany.
What this means is that Spurs are now a far more solid defensive than they have been for quite some time. Only north London rivals Arsenal (3) have shipped fewer goals than Frank’s side (5) across the opening seven league matches. They are still be giving up more shots than supporters may hope, yet they are far better equipped at containing teams than in recent years. This new-found defensive resolve is an alien concept to some.
And so, reports that Spurs are considering triggering the €30m option to sign the club’s best holding midfielder since Scott Parker shouldn’t come as a surprise. German football journalist Florian Plettenberg reported over the international break that Spurs are seriously considering making Palhinha’s move permanent with a return to Bayern unlikely.
While that may block the pathway for Spurs to sign a more forward-thinking central midfielder, Palhinha has proven the midfield monster they’d lacked in recent years. Additionally, the player himself is happy at the club. “I’m going through a happy phase in my life. A new club, a new project, in a league that’s not new to me and that I’m enjoying again,” the former Fulham man said recently.
With Spurs flying high in the Premier League – they are currently third, two points behind league leaders Arsenal – it’s no wonder that Palhinha is enjoying his time at the club, nor should it come as a surprise that fans are happy about rumours of a permanent move.
The midfielder may turn 31 next summer, yet athleticism has never been a key part to his game. Instead, he relies heavily on his impressive positioning and knack for being in the right place at the right time to make a crunching tackle that’ll stop an opposition attack dead in its tracks.
It was so often the same old story for Spurs in the Premier League last season. They’d dominate, commit players forward, only to lose possession deep in opposition territory. Teams would break forward, outnumber Spurs in the process, who’d concede seconds after losing the ball. This was an area identified in dire need of improvement.
Palhinha has since plugged a significant gap in the Spurs squad that means they have gone from having one of the weakest cores in the Premier League, to one of the strongest. They’re a work in progress under Frank yet Palhinha is very much the finished product, and one that has enabled the club to make a solid start to the season under the Dane.
