Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly ‘established contact’ with a top defensive midfield target as they look to bring a former Premier League target back to England, fixing a major issue with Thomas Frank’s side in the process.
The north London club have started to ramp up their transfer business after a fairly slow start to the summer window, with Mohammed Kudus signed from West Ham and a deal for Nottingham Forest skipper Morgan Gibbs-White also agreed – as long as the two clubs can rectify issues over an alleged illegal approach for the England man.
However, neither of those additions fix a major need in Tottenham‘s engine room when it comes to bringing in a destructive defensive midfielder.
Yves Bissouma has tried in that role but failed to convince, and there is every likelihood that he will be offloaded to free up another space in Frank’s squad.
There has been talk of Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton as a potential option for that role, but getting him out of Selhurst Park for less than £80million will be an incredibly tough task.
Links to Sporting star Morten Hjulmand come as no great surprise, given his Danish ties with Frank, but it’s Bayern Munich star Joao Palhinha who now looks most likely to fill that No.6 role in north London.
A report from GiveMeSport states that Spurs have already made contact to learn more about a potential transfer of the Portugal international destroyer.
Palhinha made a big name for himself while playing for Fulham in the Premier League before joining Bayern Munich last summer. At the time, the Bundesliga giants were very keen on getting the 30-year-old on board, forking out £47million to secure his signature.
However, he struggled for minutes under Vincent Kompany last season, featuring just 25 times in all competitions and playing less than 1,000 minutes of first-team action.
Injuries did play a part in that but when he was fit, Palhinha often found himself on the bench and now a move away seems inevitable – with Tottenham very much in the running to sign the Portuguese star.
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Where Palhinha fits in at Tottenham?
A fully fit Palhinha walks into Frank’s first XI and would provide the sort of protection that Tottenham’s backline has been calling out for since the days of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama.
He is a yellow card magnet, as was highlighted by 27 bookings in 68 Premier League during his time with the Cottagers, but he is the sort of player that the Spurs midfield has been crying out for.
Frank is a massive fan of Archie Gray, having tried to sign the England Under-21 star from Leeds for Brentford before Tottenham swooped, but there remains a concern that he is currently too lightweight to play in that role and is better filling in at right-back and in central defence when required.
New Tottenham boss Frank has identified the holding midfield position as one that needs an upgrade, hence the interest in Palhinha, after a pre-agreed deal to sign Real Betis Johnny Cardoso fell through.
In terms of the fee Bayern are asking for the former Fulham man, it’s rumoured to be in the region of £30m, although his salary demands could create an issue.
However, GiveMeSport adds that Tottenham have refused to rule out the possibility of making an offer if it becomes clear that Palhinha is on the market.
Should he actually sign, it would represent almost a complete revamp of Tottenham’s midfield – although it could be argued that one was needed.
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