Tottenham makes transfer ‘decision’ on Bayern midfielder | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur have made reportedly made the decision to not sign Joao Palhinha permanently from Bayern Munich. 

Palhinha spent the 2025-26 campaign on loan at Spurs, where he was arguably one of their best performers in an extremely difficult campaign.

Tottenham changed two managers last season, and they narrowly escaped relegation on the final day under Roberto De Zerbi.

Joao Palhinha: Tottenham make transfer decision

Until last month, it looked more likely that Palhinha would be staying at the North London club, as both clubs were locked in discussions.

Spurs had an option to make the move permanent for £25.93m, but they were not keen to pay the amount. Rather, they were negotiating to lower the fee.

Sporting Lisbon were also in the race for Palhinha, as they wanted to bring their former player back at the club, but Spurs were thought to be favourites.

It has been widely reported that Palhinha had developed a strong working relationship with De Zerbi, who publicly expressed his desire to keep the player at the club.

However, Tottenham have changed their transfer strategy completely, and they have spent heavily to secure deals for two midfielders.

Spurs broke their transfer record this week to secure an agreement for West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, and then they broke the bank again to strike a deal with Newcastle United for Sandro Tonali.

According to Florian Plettenberg, the deal to sign Palhinha is definitely off, and the midfielder is now set to return to Bayern.

Joao Palhinha: No future at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich paid a big-money to sign Palhinha from Fulham but soon they found that he is not suited to Vincent Kompany’s system.

Despite losing Leon Goretzka for free, Kompany has loads of options in their ranks, and as such they can do without Palhinha.

Tom Bischof played mostly as a left-back last season, but he is primarily a central midfielder, and Kompany is more likely to use him there next season.

In all probability, Bayern will try to offload Palhinha again, but they may not get the desired value for him, unless any Saudi Pro League club comes up with a big offer.

Bayern, meanwhile, have confirmed the signings of Isamel Saibari and Nathaniel Brown, and more singings are only expected after they offload a few players.