Palhinha departure about to be finalized? Interested party gets serious | OneFootball

João Palhinha is set for a return to Munich after his loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur. However, he has little chance of playing time under coach Vincent Kompany. Now a return to Portugal is apparently becoming more concrete

Sporting Lisbon are reportedly stepping up their efforts to sign João Palhinha and are talking directly to FC Bayern about a return for the midfielder. According to information from transfer insider Ekrem Konur, Palhinha prefers a move to Lisbon rather than London despite a €30 million clause at Tottenham Hotspur. The midfielder is said to be willing to lower his current Bayern annual salary of €9 million for a return to Sporting

This development fits in with the latest reports surrounding the Portuguese. A Bola already reported that Palhinha is said to see Sporting Lisbon as his next destination, with an agreement with the player described as being at an advanced stage. However, Sporting and Bayern still need to find a solution regarding the transfer fee

Tottenham remains a possible option

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Tottenham remain relevant, however, due to the €30 million purchase option. It is currently unclear whether Tottenham will use this option, try to push the price down further or refrain from a permanent transfer. During his time at Tottenham, Palhinha played an important role in the fight against relegation in the second half of the season and scored the decisive goal in the 1-0 win over Everton on the final matchday

Fabrizio Romano even reported a contrary trend surrounding Palhinha, stating that the Portuguese still prefers a permanent transfer to Spurs as he has a good relationship with coach Robert De Zerbi

For Bayern, the financial aspect is the most important factor. A concrete transfer fee is not known, nor is the structure of a possible deal with Sporting. However, according to Sky, a Bayern departure is considered certain and further talks are to be held in the coming days

Palhinha came to the Isar in the summer of 2024 for just under €50 million, but was never able to make a lasting impression. Munich now want to keep the financial loss as low as possible.