Tottenham's bold summer spending has cost one of last season's most important players his place in the team. Spurs are among the biggest spenders in world football this summer, already committing more than £200million to new signings, and the spending will not end there.
Roberto De Zerbi was promised a big budget, and he is getting exactly that, with Spurs quickly signing Andy Robertson, Marcos Sensesi and Jan Paul van Hecke. They have now added to those signings with the deals to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85million and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United for £92million.
It is a huge statement from Tottenham, who have rarely dug deep into their pocket, but back-to-back bottom-half finishes appear to have served as a real wake-up call. Fans will be delighted with the investment, but it is not good news for everyone.
Palhinha set to miss out on Tottenham move
Joao Palhinha was a crucial player for Tottenham last season, arriving on loan and proving to be one of the very few bright lights in an otherwise forgettable campaign. The Portugal international battled admirably even during the more difficult times, but Spurs decided not to take up the £26million option to buy they held in the loan deal, which was seen as a very affordable total due to Bayern Munich previously paying £47.4million to sign the midfielder from Fulham.
But according to Tom Barclay and Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have now decided to move on from Palhinha, opting not to return to Bayern with a fresh approach following their two statement midfield signings.
Romano posted on X: "João Palhinha will not stay at Spurs this summer despite his desire to continue at the club. The decision has been made after Tonali and Mateus Fernandes signings, as @TomBarclay_reports."
De Zerbi wanted to keep Palhinha
The strange thing about the Palhinha decision is that De Zerbi stated he wanted to sign the midfielder when speaking towards the end of last season. He said: "100%. We have to start from this type of person. We need reliable people as well as reliable players and Palhinha is one of the best. I want to see players with the same attitude, with the same passion, with the same spirit and personality. We are lucky to have Palhinha with us."
Ultimately, though, the arrivals of Tonali and Fernandes likely push Palhinha out of the team, and Spurs also have Rodrigo Bentancur in the middle, along with Pape Matar Sarr and Conor Gallagher. Given a free choice, Palhinha might have been kept over one of those players, but given he was only on loan, it is a safer option to not sign the Portugal international and avoid being forced to try to sell one of the existing options.