Bayern Munich have been decisive this summer when it comes to transfers. They moved quickly to seal the signings of Nathaniel Brown and Ismael Saibari. Bayern are not expected to be active in the market over the next few weeks as they focus on departures.
Joao Palhinha is one of the players that features on Bayern’s departure list. The Portuguese midfielder is not part of the club’s plans for next season. He spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur. He helped the North London side to stay in the Premier League.
Palhinha was particularly impressive under Roberto De Zerbi in the final couple of months. The Italian coach spoke glowingly about Palhinha in the media. Considering how highly De Zerbi rated Palhinha, the chances of Spurs activating the option to sign him permanently looked high.
However, Spurs have been aggressive in terms of strengthening the midfield this summer, ruling out a permanent transfer of Palhinha. The Premier League side have spent £185 million to sign Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali from West Ham United and Newcastle United, respectively.
Despite a positive season at Spurs and the departure of Leon Goretzka, Bayern have no plans to keep Palhinha beyond this summer. The good performances in the Premier League have helped Palhinha attract interest from other European clubs.
According to SportItalia journalist Massimo Pavan (via iMiaSanMia), Juventus and AC Milan are monitoring the situation of Palhinha. Juventus are looking to add experience to the midfield, which makes Palhinha a perfect fit for them. Meanwhile, AC Milan also consider Palhinha a suitable candidate to strengthen the midfield.
The two Italian clubs have not approached Bayern until now to initiate negotiations for Palhinha. The Bavarian club is looking for a permanent deal instead of negotiating another loan move.
Return to Portugal is also an option for Palhinha
Along with interest from Italy, Palhinha will also have the option to return to Portugal.  According to the Portuguese media outlet Zerozero (via iMiaSanMia), Benfica are showing concrete interest in signing Palhinha from Bayern. They are planning to make an offer of €25 million (€20 million fixed plus €5 million in bonuses).
Since Bayern had included an option worth €30 million in the loan deal with Spurs, Benfica can certainly clinch a deal if they end up making the reported offer for Palhinha.
Marco Silva was recently appointed as the head coach of Benfica. Silva had worked with Palhinha at Fulham, which explains Benfica’s interest in him this summer.
Bayern will hope to resolve Palhinha’s future before the squad returns to Säbener Strasse for pre-season training.
Add us as a preferred source on Google