Spurs transfer news: Joao Palhinha blow as North Londoners 'out of the race' for Portugal international

By Darren Plant | 01 Jun 2026 18:05

Spurs 'out of the race' for Palhinha as European club takes the lead

Tottenham Hotspur will reportedly not be signing Joao Palhinha on a permanent basis.

On the final day of the season, the Portugal international scored the goal that secured Spurs' Premier League status with a 1-0 victory over Everton.

With the 30-year-old having emerged as a key player under Roberto De Zerbi, the expectation was that Spurs would take up an option that they possessed in their agreement with Bayern Munich.

Spurs were in a position where they could activate a €30m (£25.93m) buy clause for Palhinha by a certain date.

However, as per A BOLA, that option has not expired and Spurs will now not signing the player.

Who are favourites to sign Joao Palhinha?

The report emphasises that Sporting Lisbon are now the favourites to secure a deal for Palhinha.

Furthermore, it is emphasised that Palhinha is eager to return to his former club, who he represented between 2016 and 2022, for personal reasons.

This may have played its part in Spurs failing to act when they had the opportunity to do so, subsequently leaving Sporting to bargain with Palhinha's parent club Bayern.

Palhinha will leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium having contributed seven goals and three assists from 45 appearances in all competitions.

With two years left on his contract, Bayern will realistically look to generate the fee that they were anticipating that Spurs would pay.

Sporting will allegedly have to undertake "a lot of negotiation" to get a deal over the line.

Palhinha exit a major blow for Spurs

While Palhinha did not start the early fixtures under De Zerbi, he completed 90 minutes on each occasion as Spurs earned seven points from games against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Everton.

Palhinha also scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers in De Zerbi's third fixture.

Prior to the latest development, the Italian would have surely viewed Palhinha as one of his two central midfielders, and the North Londoners now face a battle to find a suitable alternative.