{"id":109271,"date":"2025-10-09T15:33:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=109271"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:33:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:33:46","slug":"joao-palhinha-at-tottenham-hotspur-a-problem-or-problem-solver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=109271","title":{"rendered":"Joao Palhinha at Tottenham Hotspur: A problem or problem solver?"},"content":{"rendered":"

To contextualise the growing debate around Joao Palhinha within the Tottenham Hotspur fanbase, let\u2019s first consider the circumstances that led to him signing on a season-long loan.<\/p>\n

Rewind to 2021. Given his standout performances for Portugal at Euro 2020 and his crucial role in Sporting CP\u2019s league title win in 2020-21 under Ruben Amorim, if Palhinha were to leave the club he progressed through as a youngster, many expected it to be for one of Europe\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

As it transpired, he waited a year and left his hometown of Lisbon for London. But not for Chelsea, Arsenal, or indeed Tottenham. He joined newly-promoted Fulham in a deal worth around \u20ac20m (\u00a317.2m).<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple of reasons for that,\u201d Tom Kundert, founder of English-language site Portugoal, told The Athletic in 2022. \u201cHe had a couple of injury problems. But also Sporting bought a very promising Uruguayan central midfielder, Manuel Ugarte, who, whenever he played, was just absolutely superb and is a bit more creative than Palhinha.\u201d<\/p>\n

It proved a bargain for the west Londoners. In his debut Premier League season, Palhinha was named the club\u2019s player of the year. He won 64.3 per cent of his 112 aerial duels (Rodri with 68.6 per cent of 105 was the only player to win a larger share of those who competed for 100 aerial duels or more) and made 148 tackles in 2022-23, 48 more than any other player in England\u2019s top flight. In his second season, he somehow topped it, finishing with 152.<\/p>\n

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\n

\"Joao<\/p>\n

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Palhinha is mobbed by team-mates after scoring against Manchester City (Photo: DARREN STAPLES\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Having needed just a single Premier League season to convince one of Europe\u2019s biggest clubs he had the quality to step up, Bayern Munich failed in a deadline-day bid to bring him to the Bundesliga in 2023. That move came a year later, with Palhinha joining the German giants for \u20ac51million (\u00a343.1m, $54.9m) plus \u20ac5m in potential add-ons, equalling a club record sale for Fulham.<\/p>\n

The move didn\u2019t work out. Having initially been recruited in 2023 to play under the more defensive-minded Thomas Tuchel, Palhinha was an awkward fit at the base of Vincent Kompany\u2019s midfield, with the Belgian preferring the technical qualities of Joshua Kimmich and academy graduate Aleksandar Pavlovic.<\/p>\n

He featured 17 times in the Bundesliga for Bayern, starting just five matches. In an end-of-season player survey conducted by German publication Kicker, Palhinha was voted the league\u2019s most disappointing player by 216 of his Bundesliga peers, receiving 13.4 per cent of the vote.<\/p>\n

Back to Kundert\u2019s creativity comment. Combined with injuries, Palhinha\u2019s perceived lack of invention and quality on the ball prevented his career in Bavaria from taking off. Now, having been cast aside by Kompany and permitted to join Spurs on loan with an option to buy for \u20ac30m, it\u2019s central to a growing discussion around the 30-year-old\u2019s suitability and fit within Thomas Frank\u2019s midfield.<\/p>\n

At the core of the discussion are memories of Tottenham\u2019s dysfunctional engine room last season. Without a natural No 6, Ange Postecoglou experimented with Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray, Yves Bissouma and Lucas Bergvall at the base of midfield, all of whom have the characteristics and qualities to succeed in the right system.<\/p>\n

It was evident, however, that Postecoglou\u2019s daring style, which often came at the expense of leaving the defensive midfielder to manage transitions individually, didn\u2019t suit any of them. They were conditions that even the best ball-winners in Europe \u2014 of which Palhinha is one \u2014 may not have been able to thrive in.<\/p>\n

Under Frank, defensive structure is prioritised, and Palhinha\u2019s qualities have been evident. He had a strong debut in the Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain and produced one of the best performances of his career away to Manchester City, winning more duels (eight) and tackles (four) than any Spurs player, and topping off his performance with a well-taken goal. At that point, the suggestion Palhinha would be anything less than a key player moving forward this season would have felt ludicrous. But after an ineffective display in the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at home the following week, where he was taken off at 54 minutes, Palhinha\u2019s limitations in helping to progress the ball through the first and middle third of the pitch were more evident.<\/p>\n

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Jo\u00e3o Palhinha: duelling monster \ud83d\udcaa#MCITOT pic.twitter.com\/f7EVWzzP13<\/p>\n

\u2014 Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 23, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOn the offensive side, we struggled to find good enough solutions to get through phase one and two so we could get up there and put a bit of pressure on them,\u201d Frank said in his post-match press conference. \u201cWe only did that in the last 15 where we put on good pressure and could have equalised. I think, over the game, it was fair that Bournemouth won.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in the modern game, you don\u2019t necessarily have to play every match to be a key player. Contests against City and PSG offered Palhinha the perfect conditions to demonstrate the extent of his defensive capabilities \u2014 something sorely missed in midfield last season \u2014 but Frank\u2019s willingness to leave him on the bench at home to Villarreal suggests he believes there are better alternatives for home matches where the onus is on Spurs to control possession and build attacks with patience.<\/p>\n

For those occasions, Tottenham\u2019s midfielders need to feel comfortable passing the ball forward under pressure. Last season, Palhinha completed 92.9 per cent of his passes in the Bundesliga \u2014 but only 2.7 per cent of those were \u201cprogressive\u201d. For comparison, Christian Norgaard, who fulfilled a similar role under Frank last season at Brentford, played the ball forward 7.1 per cent of the time.<\/p>\n

The immediate need to address this has been reduced by Spurs\u2019 efficiency from set pieces and their overall defensive structure. Four clean sheets out of five matches since the Super Cup is practically impossible to maintain, but Tottenham will be solid under Frank and can expect that to continue for the remainder of the season and beyond. However, leaning on set pieces without creating enough chances from open play is unsustainable. If that well dries up, Tottenham will need more from their midfield, starting at the base.<\/p>\n

As Bayern pushed to win the Bundesliga and go deep in the Champions League, Palhinha\u2019s perceived weaknesses in possession kept him on the sidelines as skills to aid build-up were prioritised. Unlike Kompany, who sticks to his principles regardless of club or situation, Frank is a pragmatist and develops bespoke tactical plans. Sometimes Palhinha will be the right horse for a particular course. For other plans, he may not be.<\/p>\n

But given the early indications of his defensive and structural value at the heart of midfield, it would be nonsensical to suggest Palhinha is a problem. In fact, in light of last season\u2019s struggles, he\u2019s one of Tottenham\u2019s biggest problem solvers.<\/p>\n

(Photo: Gaspafotos\/MB Media\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To understand the Portuguese midfielder’s place at Tottenham, you have to look back at why they signed him…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":109272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2987,300],"class_list":["post-109271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-portugal","tag-tottenham-hotspur"],"yoast_head":"\nJoao Palhinha at Tottenham Hotspur: A problem or problem solver? - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=109271\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joao Palhinha at Tottenham Hotspur: A problem or problem solver? 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