The transfer saga surrounding Portuguese midfielder Joao Palhinha is entering the next phase. Benfica wants to bring the player to Lisbon and has a clear plan in place.
The past few weeks have been very turbulent regarding Palhinha’s future. At first, there was justified hope that the Portuguese player might stay with the Spurs, but the loan was not converted into a permanent transfer because Tottenham had other options.
Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have since moved to North London, so Palhinha is no longer needed. And even at Sporting, which had shown interest, it quickly became clear that the financial terms weren’t right.
There are now three remaining options. In Italy, Milan and Juventus are interested, but neither has held concrete talks yet. A more realistic option is Sporting’s rival, Benfica.
Marco Silva is a big fan of Palhinha
And for good reason. For one thing, Benfica has the financial means to offer a sum that falls within FC Barcelona’s asking price of around 25 million euros. And for another, Marco Silva, Benfica’s head coach, is a big fan of Palhinha.
The two have already worked together successfully at Fulham FC. According to a report by the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Silva is the one pushing the deal forward internally at Benfica. He is looking for an experienced leader in midfield.
The coach is ready to entrust the midfielder with the greatest responsibility in midfield, offering him a leading role, and he has not the slightest doubt that Palhinha will be successful should he return to Portugal.
Meanwhile, the Bayern player is aware of his former coach’s interest and feels flattered by it, though he has not yet made a final decision. He wants to take his time to consider which option is best for his career at this point. Nevertheless, everyone involved is keen to resolve this matter by the time training begins at FC Bayern on July 20.