30 million euros for palinha is good business. He's still around his peak and nowhere near finished. Midfielders with an ability to be positionally sound and have the ability to win the ball without constantly being booked is a rarity these days. We've missed what he brings for a few years now I'm so glad to have him here and hope he remains past this season.
-
The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...
Player João Palhinha
- Thread starter The Fighting Cock
- Start date
Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports
And still plenty in the legs. Wasn't flogged to within an inch of his life as a youth/young player and has less than 300 games to his name. Type of player that can be crucial still in his mid-30's. Fabinho, Fernandinho et al. Different type of players, but you get the gist.
He looks good overall, and physically he's a beast- the type that's more likely to injure opposition than be injured by it- and we really need that. The game vs Brighton was extremely physical and nasty, but Palhinha is fortunately well-suited for that task.
He definitely isn't great offensively, but honestly we don't face too many teams where we can dominate like that anyways, so it's less of an issue, and we can always sub in more offensively, which Frank seems like he is slowly becoming more open to do.
My only worry about him long-term is that he would block a first-team pathway to Gray at the 6, but, now that Levy is out, I'm less worried about us being overly attached to Gray's long-term success anyways...
Last edited:
You are cute
.You have taken Levy-school thing so very seriously.
Like football would be somehow played on calculator "Oh no, that team has too much age, other team wins".
Though that has nothing to do with reality. Like it or not, Palhinha is as good as already brought. For that 30 mil.
We absolutely have to invest more to CM position. And we could also buy another #6, say Hjulmand. In which case it is entirely possible that Palhinha will be 2nd choice #6. And that is fine too. We cant expect one player to play 60+ game on top of his levels.
You will get shit for this take but we are in a solid situation where we have him on loan for the season.
There will be #6's on the market next summer and maybe we look to move Bentancur on and decide that we can get different profiles to replace him and JP. Maybe they look to negotiate the 30m down on JP and also bring another deep lying playmaker type.
Either way, no rush to make a decision.
Agreed. Gray is far from a slam dunk in that role, long term. Needs to improve a lot tbh. But, he has a good mentor in Palhinha
This. Before Levy left, I'd absolutely say don't sign him. But now if the Lewis' are serious about competing, signing him is a no brainer, as well as signing a younger player better on the ball. Different players for different tasksYou are cute
You have taken Levy-school thing so very seriously.
Like football would be somehow played on calculator "Oh no, that team has too much age, other team wins".
Though that has nothing to do with reality. Like it or not, Palhinha is as good as already brought. For that 30 mil.
We absolutely have to invest more to CM position. And we could also buy another #6, say Hjulmand. In which case it is entirely possible that Palhinha will be 2nd choice #6. And that is fine too. We cant expect one player to play 60+ game on top of his levels.
His 1st goal was against City, and he was playing in midfield
I love how excited he was to score. He made the little heart celebration to the fans too. Really looks to be enjoying himself here- pretty much a perfect fit. That he can play CB too makes his permanent transfer all the more of a slam dunk- he'll definitely have utility well into his 30s if he can play there.
I won't lie I was kinda initially against signing him on a perm because I thought that long term we need a 6 who is pass first BUT we actually need both - he's a profile we have missed for a while and he's making a massive difference to way we operate.
Yeah, he's a big brave boy. I never get the "we need another CB" stuff tbh. We are decently stocked and with JP as an option, and Vuskovic coming back next summer, it looks good. An unknown is whether Dragusin will impress Frank, but if not then I guess replacing him next summer. I'm hopeful we'll see a far better Dragusin this season.
We have very different views on quality
Watching him with the ball in defence last night, he had an air of Vertonghen about him...
Not necessarily the overall defensive quality, just his running style, gait and calm demeanour ...
Definitely reminded me of him a little.