‘Tottenham prepare for midfield exit as Joao Palhinha deal nears’
Tottenham are planning for a midfield departure as they up their interest in bringing in Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich.
Following their Europa League success last season, beating Man United 1-0 in a nervy final in Bilbao, the new era under Thomas Frank has started well.
Undefeated in pre-season so far, their preparations for the 2025-26 campaign continue to go well thanks to their 1-0 victory over north London rivals Arsenal.
Pape Sarr scored an outrageous halfway line goal, lobbing Gunners goalkeeper David Raya, to win the match for his side.
Whilst the Senegalese has been one of the shining lights in midfield for the Lilywhites, the new manager is looking to bolster the middle of the park as they up their pursuit for Palhinha.
Tottenham must fix ‘problem position’
As per The Athletic (31 July), the Lilywhites are in talks to bring ex-Fulham midfielder Palhinha to north London on a season-long loan.
Following on from this news, Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold took to X (31 July) and said the update on the Portuguese’s potential move would “suggest the club are confident of getting at least one midfielder out of the door in the weeks ahead”.
The club are looking to resolve a “problem position” before the transfer window shuts at the end of August.
Bissouma the prime target to leave
Football Insider verdict
Looking at the Spurs midfield, there are only two candidates who stand out to be shipped off.
Both Lucas Bergvall and Sarr impressed last season with the Swede winning the club’s 2024-25 Player of the Season.
This leaves one of Rodrigo Bentancur or Yves Bissouma to be moved on with both players entering the final years of their contracts.
| Rodrigo Bentancur | Yves Bissouma | Pape Sarr | Lucas Bergvall | |
| Appearances | 44 | 44 | 55 | 45 |
| Minutes played | 2986 | 2538 | 2922 | 2349 |
| Goals | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Assists | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Passing accuracy (%) | 88.5 | 89.4 | 87.8 | 88.3 |
| Errors leading to goals per-90 | 0 | 0.07 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Tackles per-90 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Interceptions per-90 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
The Uruguayan, when fit, was a reliable asset, featuring 44 times in a largely dismal campaign for the Lilywhites.
Similarly, the Malian suffered with niggling injuries but also managed to feature 44 times in all competitions for the north London side.
Yet, the number eight certainly has not reached expectations after his £25million move from Brighton back in June 2022 (BBC Sport).
The 28-year-old has been extremely inconsistent during his spell at the club which saw him drop in and out of the team on numerous occasions.
If Frank does land Palhinha on loan for the holding role, one of Bentancur or Bissouma has to make way with the ex-Seagull the more likely of the two.