Spurs hold contact over signing £218k-p/w “machine”

After starting 11 of his first 12 appearances in the Premier League this season, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Joao Palhinha has found game time harder to come by of late.

The Portugal international’s start against Brentford on Thursday night was his first in the top-flight since November, as he had been an unused substitute once and came off the bench three times in December, per Transfermarkt.

Palhinha has scored four goals and provided three assists in all competitions, per Sofascore, but he has not found the back of the net since the 4-0 win over Copenhagen at the start of November.

The Bayern Munich loanee’s general struggles in possession may be why he has found himself out of the side of late, as he ranks within the bottom 23% of midfielders in the Premier League for progressive passes per 90 (3.24) and the bottom 16% for progressive carries per 90 (0.53), per FBref.

Spurs eyeing move for Bundesliga star

Spurs are now reportedly in the mix to sign another central midfielder who could further restrict the game time that Palhinha gets in the second half of the season.

According to CaughtOffside, Bayern Munich midfield star Leon Goretzka’s representatives have reached out to make contact with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and Arsenal.

The report claims that their sources have indicated that the German giants would be forced to consider a sale in the January transfer window if a convincing offer lands at their desk.

It adds that the Lilywhites are closely monitoring the Germany international’s situation at the Allianz Arena, as they ponder a winter swoop for the experienced midfielder.

However, CaughtOffside does not reveal how much money it would take for Bayern to consider an offer for the £218k-per-week star to be ‘convincing’ enough for them to part ways with him.

Why Tottenham’s Goretzka interest is bad news for Palhinha

It could be Déjà vu for Palhinha if Spurs manage to agree a deal to bring Goretzka to North London, because he left Bayern on loan in the summer after struggling for minutes behind the German giant last term.

The Portugal international only started six league matches for Bayern under Vincent Kompany in the 2024/25 campaign, whilst Goretzka started 13 times and played nine more games overall, per Sofascore.

As you can see in the table above, the Germany international justified his larger role in the squad with superior performances in the middle of the park in the Bundesliga last term.

Goretzka, who has been described as a midfield “machine” by Bayern teammate Aleksandar Pavlović, is a more well-rounded midfielder who is better suited to playing in a dominant team that wants to compete at the top end of the table.

Palhinha provides great defensive qualities with his ability to make tackles and interceptions, ranking in the top 1% of Premier League midfielders for tackles per 90 (5.27) this season, per FBref.

Midfielders in teams that want to compete at the very top need to be able to offer quality in possession to go along with their defensive qualities, though, which may be why Kompany was willing to let him go, and why Thomas Frank has dropped him in recent weeks.

The statistics in the chart above from Goretzka and Palhinha’s statistics this season show the significant difference in quality in possession between the two players, as the German ranks highly in a host of possession-based metrics.

This suggests that, as was the case at Bayern in the 2024/25 campaign, Goretzka’s presence in the squad could spell bad news for the former Fulham star in the second half of this season.

The 30-year-old star could be an excellent addition to Frank’s squad to add more quality on the ball to his options in the middle of the park, possibly leaving Palhinha’s future at the club beyond his initial loan spell in serious doubt because he could struggle for game time behind the German talent.