Tottenham Hotspur have officially what is their third new signing of the summer, confirming the acquisition of Portuguese defensive midfielder Palhinha from Bayern Munich on loan for the 2025-26 season.
We are delighted to announce the signing of João Palhinha on loan from FC Bayern, subject to international clearance and work permit ✍️
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 3, 2025
The loan includes a €30m purchase option at the end of this coming season, and Tottenham will assume the entirety of Palhinha’s wages, estimated to be about £165k/wk.
Palhinha’s signing continues what has felt like a theme among players linked to Tottenham this summer under Johan Lange: Premier League experience. Palhinha did well as a pure ball-winning midfielder at Fulham before being signed by Bayern Munich last summer. The Portuguese man didn’t really fit in with Vincent Kompany’s tactics in Germany, however, and he saw his playing time reduce to an extent that Bayern have been actively shopping him around trying to ship him elsewhere.
I know I’ve voiced my reservations about Palhinha’s skill set and how it impacts Spurs’ midfield under Thomas Frank. I stand by those assertions, but a one season loan is much different than an outright purchase. Palhinha is 30, a tough tackling ball winner and defensive stalwart at the base of midfield. He’ll no doubt add some heft to the midfield when he plays and there is no doubt that he’ll be a very useful contributor in some games and against certain opponents. He could also be a very good mentor for someone like Archie Gray, assuming the club feels Gray is the heir apparent to that role under Frank in the future.
What continues to irk me is that Spurs are still desperately needing creativity and passing in the midfield, and this signing makes me suspect we might not get that, which has a long tail effect on how Frank will set up and play this season. Maybe it’ll work out! Maybe I’m just an idiot! This just feels like an unambitious move, and I honestly hope I’m wrong about that and look forward to when I can tell you how wrong I was.
In the meantime, Palhinha is now officially a Tottenham player, and because of that I am now a fan of his and will be rooting for him to succeed. Welcome, Palhinha!