Joao Palhinha had an up and down season at Spurs (as did everyone else, to be fair) but the Portuguese international and Bayern Munich loanee has become a fan favorite and basically saved Spurs’ season with his scruffy first half goal on the final match day vs. Everton, a goal that kept Spurs in the Premier League.
Palhinha, surprisingly considering his position as defensive midfielder, ended up Spurs’ second leading goal scorer with five, behind Richarlison with 11. That, and his obvious passion
for the game and for his loan club has endeared him to Spurs supporters. The feeling is apparently mutual. In quotes printed in the Guardian yesterday, Palhinha said he’d love to return to Spurs next season, if the club will have him, saying he “100% wants it to happen.”
“Since the first day I arrived I feel at home. From the supporters, the crowd. Top club. Who doesn’t want to play for Tottenham and stay here? I have everything here. But this is like a marriage. What I can say to you is I would really like to be here and I enjoy it a lot this season with this club – even with it being a tough season.”
“I think the next season will hopefully be really different and I truly believe,” he said. “This season will help Tottenham for the future. Analyse the season, what we did wrong, what we did well and it will be a big improvement and a big relief after the season.”
At present, the “marriage” Palhinha talks about is more like a trial separation. His loan has officially ended and he is now once again a Bayern Munich player. But Bayern don’t seem that interested in keeping him around, and there have been links between Palhinha and his former club Sporting. But it does sound like his heart is Lilywhite and he’d like to return, if we’ll have him.
Contrary to what a lot of people here seem to think, I don’t hate Palhinha. I think he’s exceptional at the things he does well — he was just placed in a situation where his strengths weren’t maximized due to the appalling squad constructed by Johan Lange. Spurs certainly need a player like him — someone who can hold down the base of midfield and break up play, and who has a knack for popping up unexpectedly with a banger of a goal now and then. It’d just be great to pair him with someone who knows how to pass. I’m not sure that paying the reported €30m fee to make his loan permanent is worth it, but I’d be willing to accept another season on loan, or a short term transfer for a lower fee.
But we’ll get there. The window doesn’t open for another few weeks, and it’s good to have options, especially for players that want to be here.
