Bavarian Football Works

Juventus is considering a move for João Palhinha after his loan spell at Tottenham from Bayern Munich ended this summer. The Portuguese midfielder is now expected to assess his options as he looks to secure regular first-team football ahead of the new season.

Tottenham have signed two big-money midfielders, suggesting they do not intend to keep Palhinha beyond the end of his loan spell. As a result, the midfielder has become available for another move during the current transfer window.

This situation has opened the door for Palhinha to join another club, with Juventus interested in adding him to their squad. According to Tuttojuve, the Bianconeri believe the experienced midfielder could strengthen their options as they continue reshaping the team.

Bayern Munich also appears to have moved on from the player, having sent him out on loan during the previous campaign. The German club is now hoping he can find a team willing to sign him permanently, bringing his spell at Bayern to an end.

Juventus sees Palhinha as an ideal addition to a squad that requires significant changes during this transfer window. His experience and qualities in midfield have kept him among the club’s leading options as they continue evaluating potential signings.

Dusan is returning: he’s not tempted by Besiktas ‘s million-dollar offer , and he hasn’t found anyone high-level to accommodate his financial demands, so he’s laying the groundwork for a return to Turin. He wants to rekindle a relationship that seemed to have completely crumbled, even with his teammates. To this end, Vlahovic has also reached out to the team, keeping close contacts, those closest to him, warm . Now the matter is in the hands of Carnevali and Massara, both willing to reopen it. Both, after all, know full well how useful Dusan is to Spalletti and how Spalletti—even with the right salary conditions, he doesn’t intend to manage obvious imbalances in the day-to-day running of the locker room—is happy at the mere thought of being able to work with the Serbian again.

After a relatively successful loan spell at Tottenham, Bayern Munich’s João Palhinha is in search of a new destination as the North Londoners have now made it clear they do not plan on activating the buy-on clause that was attached to his loan deal. Additionally, the Portuguese midfielder would be facing a tough battle for any type of minutes in a crowded midfield at Bayern under Vincent Kompany, so he’s looking for another club at the moment.

Per information from Sky Sports News editor Lyall Thomas, Palhinha could be set for a move back to Sporting Lisbon, where he played before he made the move to Fulham in the Premier League, gaining prominence. Even before the Premier League season was over and Tottenham avoided relegation to the English Championship, Sporting Lisbon had been monitoring Palhinha’s situation, knowing that Tottenham were not yet sure whether they would buy him at the end of his Bayern loan spell. Sporting were also aware that Palhinha didn’t likely have a future at Bayern, even with the departure of Leon Goretzka at the end of the season.

At Tottenham, they’ve already brought in Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United and they’ve also agreed a deal to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United, so Roberto De Zerbi’s midfield is getting more crowded, hence why they did not want to pursue the buy-on clause for Palhinha. They’ve also already brought in Jan Paul an Hecke from Brighton and Hove Albion for roughly 60 million euros, so there’s not much budget left to make too many more expensive signings - free transfers a la Andy Robertson from Liverpool and Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth are more along the lines of what they can afford after already making some big signings.

Reflecting back, the 30 million euro buy-on clause attached to Palhinha’s loan spell from Bayern seemed like a considerable fee at the time without the foresight of knowing how poorly Tottenham’s season was going to go, but they’ve invested a decent amount in Tonali and Fernandes to try to revamp their midfield. If Tottenham had fared far better last season, the conversation and decision around Palhinha could have been far different for 30 million euros.

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João Palhinha may still be in the top 10 of Bayern Munich’s most expensive signings following his arrival in 2024, but he clearly has no future at the club. Deemed surplus to requirements halfway through his first year at the club, Palhinha had to search for a new club in the summer of 2025 and chose Tottenham Hotspur on loan. The Lilywhites also negotiated an option to buy for around €25 million into the Portuguese midfielder’s contract. Palhinha was in and out of the team for the majority of the season, but the former Fulham FC player came up big in the final run-in of the season, scoring two crucial goals to keep 2025’s Europa League winners in the Premier League. He even scored the goal that sealed the final matchday 1-0 win over Everton to seal survival once and for all. Despite these contributions, it remained uncertain whether Tottenham would trigger the option to retain Palhinha.

Following the official capture of Matheus Fernandes-rumored to cost around €100 million- and the near completed pursuit of Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali-rumored to cost up to €116 million if all bonuses are met- Tottenham have no need for Palhinha.

João Palhinha is set to return to FC Bayern for now. The Tottenham deal is now 100% off following the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.

A possible move to Sporting is also complicated due to Bayern’s asking price. There are further interested clubs. Talks are ongoing.

Undoing what could be Bayern’s most costly transfer mistake in history will not be easy. One has to feel for Palhinha, who has done nothing wrong yet continues to be left out in the cold. Hopefully he can finally find a good permanent home this summer.

This writer believes the move to Sporting will happen. The report may claim that the cost is prohibitive for the Portuguese giants, but midfield stalwart Martin Hjulmand seems set on moving to Atlético Madrid. Difficult negotiations are starting, but one would expect the move to go through. This sale would mean Sporting will have cash to burn and a huge hole in midfield, which Palhinha would fill nicely. Therefore, it is possible, barring any sudden U-turns, that Palhinha does find that home he so very much deserves.

In one of the craziest transfer twists of the summer, Brighton & Hove Albion has pried center-back phenom Luka Vušković away from Tottenham Hotspur for roughly €58.5 million per transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, who gave it his patented “Here we go!”-treatment:

🚨🔵⚪️ EXCLUSIVE: Brighton agree deal to sign Luka Vušković from Tottenham, here we go! 💣

£46m fixed fee plus sell-on clause to bring the potential package over £50m. Massive signing for #BHAFC after personal terms also agreed.

💣 Spurs ready to go ALL IN for Sandro Tonali.

Bayern Munich was rumored to be very interested in the young Croatia international, but there is a current backlog at center-back that would have needed to be cleared out before such a move could occur. With starters Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah firmly entrenched, back-ups Kim Min-jae and Hiroki Itō are occupying key roster space (and budget space) that likely slowed the Bavarians from getting involved in the race for the 19-year-old.

❌ It is NOT TRUE: Bayern Munich are encountering difficulties in contract talks with Harry Kane. At the moment, there are no talks. Kane, the eternal sportsman, is desperate to win the World Cup with England (which is not good news for Germany!). Two great goals from him against Croatia, by the way! First, Bayern wanted to talk with the England skipper, and he held off on talks because he wanted to win the Bundesliga. Then they asked again, and he asked them to hold off in order to focus on the DFB Pokal. There was also a dream of winning the Champions League, which further contributed to this situation. And now, we have the same (mini) problem again with the World Cup! And don’t get things twisted – it is a mini problem. Harry Kane has made it very clear that he loves Bayern Munich and wants to stay at the club. He’s in no rush. Talks can happen after the World Cup, ideally, for Kane, after he’s helped Thomas Tuchel’s side win it.

I really loved what Harry Kane had to say about Tuchel. He’s not an easy man to work with, but he is brilliant. Kane said the German made such a good speech at half-time in the dressing room against Croatia. Thomas Tuchel made it absolutely clear that when England are losing, they’re losing in their way. That’s Tuchel for “we want to win in the right way!” Ultimately, it appears that he found the right words, and England went on to win convincingly in Dallas. Kane is helping Tuchel navigate life as a German coach in an English dressing room. That may work at Liverpool, but not always with the national team! He needs a little help, which is why it’s so good that he has a partnership with Harry Kane.

Midfielder Palhinha, who is being coveted by Sporting and Tottenham, could arrive at Alvalade for 25 million euros, after Bayern Munich agreed to lower their asking price from 30 million euros.

Palhinha, who was on loan from the German club to Tottenham, welcomes a return to Portugal and to the club that launched his international career. Spurs, in turn, tried to exercise the purchase option, but the player expressed a desire to return to his family.

The Germans initially asked for 30 million euros, but have already lowered the price. Palhinha has a high salary, and therefore the cost to the club is significant for a player who is not in the coach’s plans. That’s where Sporting’s plan comes in. The objective is to fill the more than likely departure of captain Hjulmand with an experienced player capable of leading the dressing room. Sporting will pay less than Bayern is asking but intend to offer a long-term contract.

Brighton & Hove Albion have made a £30million offer to sign defender Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur.

There is also strong interest from leading clubs elsewhere in Europe — but Vuskovic’s idea is to join a side like Brighton as the next step in his career and then potentially progress from there.

The 19-year-old knows of Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler from Germany — having spent the season on loan at Hamburg, where his brother Mario also plays — and vice versa, so there is a mutual trust and Vuskovic believes Brighton have shown themselves to be a good developing ground for young talent.

Brighton’s bid for Vuskovic comes amid Tottenham’s pursuit of defender Jan Paul van Hecke.

🚨📈 BREAKING | Understand Luka Vuskovic has already reached a full verbal agreement with Brighton following very positive talks with Fabian Hürzeler and the club’s hierarchy.

Several other clubs have already been turned down. Brighton have submitted a €35m offer to Tottenham post @David_Ornstein.

The deal remains complicated, but Brighton are pushing hard and continue to fight for the transfer. Other clubs are also planning to enter the race. @SkySportDE

In a parallel universe, Michael Olise is sporting a famous white playing kit, but it’s not the one of Real Madrid. Instead, it’s Tottenham, as talkSPORT’s Natalie Sawyer revealed the Premier League side had the opportunity to sign Olise when he was a teenager, only to let him walk free because of a supposed attitude problem.

“I have a story that I was told,” Sawyer said on Monday’s edition of White and Jordan, which she co-hosted alongside Scott Minto. “He could have signed for Tottenham. He was brought in to Tottenham at a very young age and part of the reason they didn’t sign him was because of issues with his attitude. This is what I was told. He then went to Reading.

“The difference between what happened at Tottenham to what happened at Reading, was because Reading had to keep him because he was so good, they can work around this player. Whereas Tottenham thought, ‘Well, we’ve got numerous stars.’”

❌ It is NOT TRUE: Bayern are ready to sell Harry Kane to Barcelona for €80m. FC Bayern do not want to sell the fantastic Kane! They’ve already started talks over a new contract. The only question on the table is how long this new contract will be. Is it just one year, one year with an option, or will Harry Kane ask for longer? This could be a little problem, but in the end, they really want to keep the striker. He’s had a fantastic season and is clearly very important for Vincent Kompany’s team. So Barcelona are going to have to search for another solution if Julian Alvarez doesn’t work out.

✅ It is TRUE: Vincent Kompany is interested in Morgan Rogers, likes the Aston Villa star and would like to have him in Munich. However, the price tag is very high, and there are simply too many Premier League clubs following the Englishman. I don’t think they can afford the player. Bayern fans will remember the story with Xavi Simons when Kompany tried to get the Dutchman. The manager went to Tegernsee, where Uli Hoeneß lives, and the Bayern chief told him that the price is too high, but he can have a slice of pie. I think in this case, it could be another slice of pie for Vincent Kompany!

Manchester City have absolutely ZERO concerns over the prospect of losing Erling Haaland to Real Madrid this summer despite more claims from unrepentant presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal.

The Spanish businessman has repeatedly insisted that Haaland will join Real Madrid should he win the club’s upcoming presidential election, sparking fresh speculation surrounding the future of one of world football’s biggest stars. However, City sources have underlined to TEAMtalk they have never taken Riquelme’s claims seriously and remain ‘entirely relaxed’ about Haaland’s situation. Indeed, there was satisfaction within the player’s camp when a firm public response was issued on Thursday to reject suggestions that an agreement is already in place.

“Everything very entertaining but it’s NOT true. We wish the best to both candidates in the Real Madrid elections,” a statement from Haaland’s camp, including father Alfie Haaland and agent Rafaela Pimenta, read.

Despite that emphatic denial, Riquelme has refused to back down.

“Haaland’s camp denied the agreement? Well, it’s part of the game. It happened with Luis Figo too,” he said. “I understand that they have to take care of the player and protect him within his club and his camp. That seems normal to me. But I’m telling you again: Erling Haaland will join Real Madrid if I’m president.”

Bayern Munich and João Palhinha have parted ways for good. Loaned out to Tottenham Hotspur for the 2025/26 season, the Portuguese international has settled well in North London. Negotiations between Spurs and Bayern would decide whether Palhinha would make his stay in London permanent or be swooped up by Sporting CP.

Palhinha has found his preferred role in the Spurs system. Being played as a defensive midfielder he has taken to his duties like a fish to water. He’s made more tackles than Joshua Kimmich, Aleksander Pavlović and Leon Goretzka combined in the respective domestic leagues this season. Thriving in a role requiring him to do a lot of the defensive “dirty” work, Palhinha and Spurs are set to extend their partnership per Sky’s Florian Plettenberg (via @iMiaSanMia).

The midfielder has Spurs on his priority list per a report by Fabrizio Romano as captured by @iMiaSanMia. Sporting CP are closely monitoring the situation and offer a return to his home country should talks between Bayern and Spurs fail.

With a competitor to Tottenham for Palhinha’s signature, Bayern can negotiate a better price for the 30 year-old. Some major signings are planned for the summer and funds from outgoing players will be crucial to close the gap against competition. As seen in the Anthony Gordon case, FC Barcelona edged out Bayern Munich by a margin of €10 million.

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…