Spurs maintain contact over £218,000 ‘machine’ signing

After starting 11 of his first 12 appearances in the Premier League this season, Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder Joao Palhinha has had a harder time finding playing time of late.

The Portugal international’s start against Brentford on Thursday night was his first in the top-flight since November, as he had been an unused substitute once and came off the bench three times in December, according to Transfermarkt.

Palhinha has scored four goals and provided three assists in all competitions, according to Sofascore, but he has not found the back of the net since the 4-0 win over Copenhagen in early November.

The Bayern Munich loanee’s general struggles with possession may be why he has found himself left out of camp of late, as he ranks in the bottom 23% of midfielders in the Premier League for progressive passes per 90 (3.24) and bottom 16% for progressive runs per 90 (0.53), according to FBref.

Spurs consider move for Bundesliga star

Spurs are now reportedly set to sign another central midfielder who could further restrict the playing time Palhinha has in the second half of the season.

According to CaughtOffsiderepresentatives of Bayern Munich midfield star Leon Goretzka have contacted Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal.

The report claims that their sources have indicated that the German giants would be forced to consider a sale during the January transfer window if a convincing offer arrived at their desk.

He adds that the Lilywhites are closely monitoring the Germany international’s situation at the Allianz Arena, as they consider a winter move for the experienced midfielder.

However, CaughtOffside does not reveal how much money it would take for Bayern to consider an offer for the club. £218,000 per week star to be “convincing” enough for them to part ways with him.

Why Tottenham’s interest in Goretzka is bad news for Palhinha

It could be déjà vu for Palhinha if Spurs can secure a deal to bring Goretzka to north London, as he left Bayern on loan in the summer after struggling for minutes behind the German giants last season.

The Portugal international has started just six league matches for Bayern under Vincent Kompany in the 2024/25 campaign, while Goretzka has started 13 times and played a further nine games in total, according to Sofascore.

As you can see in the table above, the Germany international justified his bigger role in the team with superior performances in the middle of the park in the Bundesliga last season.

Goretzka, who has been described as a midfield “machine” by Aleksandar Pavlović, Bayern teammateis a more complete midfielder who is better suited to playing on a dominant team that wants to compete at the top of the table.

Palhinha offers great defensive qualities with his ability to make tackles and interceptions, ranking in the top 1% of Premier League midfielders for tackles per 90 (5.27) this season, according to FBref.

Midfielders of teams that want to compete at the highest level, however, must be able to offer a quality of possession that goes hand in hand with their defensive qualities, which may explain why Kompany was willing to let him go, and why Thomas Franck dropped it in recent weeks.

The stats in the table above taken from Goretzka and Palhinha’s statistics this season show the significant difference in quality of possession between the two players, with the German ranking highly in a multitude of possession-based metrics.

This suggests that, as was the case at Bayern during the 2024/25 campaign, Goretzka’s presence in the team could spell bad news for the former Fulham star in the second half of this season.

The 30-year-old star could be a great addition to Frank’s squad to add more ball quality to his options in the middle of the park, possibly leaving Palhinha’s future at the club beyond his initial loan spell in serious doubt as he may struggle to earn game time behind the German talent.