As things stand, João Palhinha is still a Bayern Munich player despite it being clear that he’s not exactly in Vincent Kompany’s plans for the coming season. To add to that, Bayern’s front office, spearheaded by the efforts of board member for sport Max Eberl and sporting director Christoph Freund, has been tasked with trying to offload out-of-favor players this summer to try to balance the club’s overall wage bill. In that regard, they’ve already signed Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Ismael
Saibari (PSV Eindhoven) and are also prepping to offer lucrative contract extensions to both Harry Kane and Michael Olise.
Sporting Lisbon had shown some interest in brining Palhinha back, but Benfica have been the most recent club to make inquiries for the midfielder. The Portuguese side is said to be most interested in trying to sort out a loan for the former Fulham man and Tottenham loanee as they are not equipped to be able to afford his yearly wages, but it’s unclear whether Bayern would be open to that.
Despite all of the uncertainty surrounding his near and long-term future, per information from Bild’s Nico Linner (via @iMiaSanMia), Palhinha is said to be in high spirits at Bayern’s preseason training that kicked off on July 20th at Säbener Straße. He’s been seen after training sessions making time for the fans by signing autographs and taking pictures with them in what appears to be a positive, upbeat move.
Aston Villa have also emerged as a potential destination for Palhinha, but there has been nothing concrete at this stage, so his future still hangs in the balance and he has to remain patient as Bayern and his representatives search for a solution before the summer window closes. Much like Benfica were interested in, Villa would also prefer a loan deal with an option to buy if something does materialize with Palhinha, but it’s whether or not Bayern would accept those terms and if the player himself would want that.
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