Aston Villa transfer news: Joao Palhinha 'makes decision' over Premier League return amid Benfica talk

Aston Villa have reportedly moved to the brink of signing Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha.

On Friday evening, the West Midlands outfit confirmed that Unai Emery had bolstered his ranks with the acquisition of Freiburg playmaker Johan Manzambi.

However, with Amadou Onana expected to miss the majority of 2026-27 through injury and Youri Tielemans having signed for Manchester United, the Spaniard needs further engine room reinforcements.

Wolverhampton Wanderers star Joao Gomes will complete a transfer to Villa over the weekend, the Brazil international having already undergone a medical and met some of his teammates.

According to A Bola, Palhinha is in line to join Gomes and Manzambi at Villa Park.

Aston Villa to beat Benfica to Palhinha

The report says that the 31-year-old is expected to travel to England on Saturday to finalise a loan transfer.

Although Benfica, now managed by Palhinha's former Fulham boss Marco Silva, had once been viewed as the favourites, they have seemingly lost out to Villa.

An agreement is said to be in place for a season-long loan deal with the option to buy.

A report in Correio da Manha suggests that Villa will have the chance to sign Palhinha for €25m (£21.26m).

Despite Palhinha initially wanting to return to Portugal for personal reasons, he now appears to join a third different Premier League club, having most recently spent time at Tottenham Hotspur.

Aston Villa's best piece of transfer business this summer

While Gomes and Manzambi joining Villa for in excess of £85m will generate the majority of the headlines, Palhinha's arrival will be Emery's shrewdest move.

With Onana injured and Boubacar Kamara having been sidelined with his own serious knee injury for over six months, Villa's midfield was in need of height and physicality.

Palhinha offers both, and a combativeness that could gel well with Gomes, while he also has 101 Premier League appearances to his name.

Although there is the inevitability of Villa having to facilitate a major sale in due course, a trio of Palhinha, Gomes and Manzambi could prove to be the perfect mix in the centre of the pitch.