Journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed what Joao Palhinha is thinking about making a permanent move to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Athletic rated Tottenham’s Palhinha deal as the best Premier League signing of the summer, and it is not hard to understand why.
Spurs secured the Portugal international on loan with an option to buy for £27m, just 12 months after Bayern spent £47m to sign him from Fulham.
Even Thomas Frank has admitted that he is surprised Bayern agreed to loan Palhinha, and the 31-year-old has fitted in seamlessly in the base of the Dane’s midfield.
What Joao Palhinha is thinking about his Tottenham future
If the midfielder continues in the same vein, it would be a no-brainer for Spurs to take up the permanent option, and it has now emerged that the player would also be in favour of that.
In fact, journalist Ben Jacobs has revealed that even back in the summer, Palhinha’s preference was to make a permanent switch to N17 rather than the temporary one, with the former Fulham man not being keen on a straight loan deal.
Jacobs told GiveMeSport: “I think the Joao Palhinha signing has been excellent for Tottenham. The original agreement had an option to buy, which is set at £27 million. That was something that both Tottenham and the player were very keen on factoring in as part of the deal.
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“Palhinha, in particular, viewed the loan as being contingent, in many ways, on having that option to buy because he would like to be permanently back in the Premier League.
“If Spurs choose to take up the option, the player will be very happy with that because he dove into the move, wanting that permanence to begin with.”
Tottenham may make Palhinha transfer decision in January
The experienced midfielder has certainly hit the ground running at N17, with no player in the Premier League making more tackles than Palhinha this season.
It has been suggested that Tottenham may not wait until the end of the season to activate the option to buy the Portuguese star.