Tottenham Hotspur have been spending heavily this summer to keep up with the rest of the traditional ‘Big Six’.
Thomas Frank needs reinforcements in this midfield as they switch tactically, and they may have found the perfect midfielder for him in João Palhinha.
João Palhinha was the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League two years ago, earning a big-money move to Bayern Munich.
Things did not go well for him in Munich last season, as he saw very little playing time.
It was a mixture of injuries and his skill set not matching Vincent Kompany‘s tactics.
Now he gets a fresh start back in the Premier League with a manager who will, without a doubt, get the best out of him.
In this player analysis and scouting report, we will examine what Palhinha brings to Tottenham and how he fits Thomas Frank tactics at Spurs.
João Palhinha At Bayern Munich 2024/2025
João Palhinha completely lost a season at Bayern Munich during the 2024/2025 season.
At 29 years old, it looked to be his last chance to make a move to a big club.
Bayern Munich spent €51.5m to acquire him from Fulham to be a cornerstone in the middle of Vincent Kompany’s midfield.
He made only six starts and 17 appearances in the Bundesliga, most of which came at the beginning of the season.
In November, he suffered a muscle injury and had an illness that forced him to miss 12 matches.
He recovered from that injury, but over the final six matches of the season, when Bayern Munich pretty much had the title wrapped up and you expected him to get playing time, he only accumulated a total of 14 minutes.
What you have to know about Palhinha is that he is one of the best pure ball-winning midfielders in world football, but he’s not elite on the ball.
Bayern Munich averaged 67.9% possession and a 76.2% field tilt, which was the highest among Europe’s top-five leagues.
Vincent Kompany’s 2-4-4 build-up system requires his double pivot to play higher up and in the centre of the pitch, overloading opponents and playing right through the middle.
This didn’t really fit Pahlinha’s strengths, so Kompany trusted the trio of Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Leon Goretzka instead.
That is not a knock on Palhinha; it was simply a terrible fit between player and club.
João Palhinha: A Pure Ball Winner
Two seasons ago at Fulham, Palhinha was by a wide margin the best ball-winning defensive midfielder in the Premier League.
He finished the season with 198 tackles + interceptions, 25 more than the next closest player (his teammate, Antonee Robinson).
He also led the Premier League the season before that with 193 tackles + interceptions.
During the 2022/2023 season, he led the Premier League in tackles won in the defensive third and middle third and was second to only Bukayo Saka in the final third.
In simple terms, he is everywhere, and his heat map proves that.
João Palhinha Heat Map 2023/2024
João Palhinha Heat Map 2022/2023
From his data profile, you can see he ranked highly in almost every ball-winning stat, but he wasn’t the midfielder who progressed the ball up the pitch.
João Palhinha Pizza Chart 2023/2024
He is not afraid of anyone and doesn’t need any help from another midfielder to defend in transition because he covers so much ground.
His slide tackling is up there with the best in world football, but sometimes it comes with a cost.
During the 2023/2024 season, he led the Premier League with 13 yellow cards but did not receive a single red card.
João Palhinha At Tottenham Hotspur 2024/2025
Thomas Frank needed to find a player similar to what he had in Christian Nørgaard at Brentford.
Not only a pure ball winner, but a big body on set-pieces.
We already saw the difference Frank has made, with Tottenham scoring two set-piece goals against PSG in the 2025 UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday.
Palhinha stands at 6’3″ and won 62% of his aerial duels in his two years at Fulham.
The biggest thing that he provides Thomas Frank with is safety.
Tottenham struggled mainly in two areas last season: breaking down low blocks and defending in transition.
Ange Postecoglou preferred a 2-3-5 build-up by inverting his full-backs centrally along a single pivot midfielder.
Thomas Frank is using a 4-2-4 build-up structure similar to what he used at Brentford last season.
In the final third, Tottenham struggled against low blocks mainly because they couldn’t find a way to play through the middle.
The ball had to go wide to the wingers, who couldn’t beat their man 1-v-1 to get a cross into the box.
Tottenham had the lowest successful take-on percentage, and when they lost the ball, they were always vulnerable in the wide areas.
Tottenham allowed the fourth most fastbreak shots last season, which Thomas Frank needs to fix.
Because Palhinha is so good at covering so much ground, his midfield partner can push forward closer to the box without having to worry about defending.
Fulham could consistently commit five or six bodies in and around the opponent’s penalty area because they knew that if they lost the ball, Palhinha would clean everything up.
This level of ball-winning is exactly what Thomas Frank and Tottenham need to not only commit more players in attack when facing low blocks but also fix their issues defending in transition.
The other positive aspect of Palhinha is that he will be a perfect defender in the middle of Tottenham’s low block.
Thomas Frank is going to change the way Tottenham defend this season.
They will not recklessly press high all the time; instead, you’ll see them sitting in mid- to low blocks like this.
If you are going to play a low block, you have to keep teams from playing through the middle of it, so who better to have than one of the best ball winners in world football to make sure the opponent can’t open you up centrally?
João Palhinha At Tottenham Hotspur 2024/2025: Potential Issues
Tottenham’s primary concern is similar to the one he faced at Bayern Munich: He’s not elite on the ball.
Thomas Frank has shown in the preseason that he doesn’t want to lose the effective build-up system that Ange Postecoglou has implemented.
However, if Palhinha is on the pitch, he cannot operate in a single pivot.
That is why Frank has been returning to his 4-2 base shape and doing his best not to have to consistently progress the ball through Palhinha.
This is not to say he’s a complete liability on the ball, but he simply needs someone next to him to help Tottenham be able to build out of the back in this type of shape.
The loss of James Maddison for Tottenham complicates things even more because he was often the one dropping really deep in build-up, which could have taken a lot of pressure off Palhinha.
Conclusion
Thomas Frank is going to change the way Tottenham plays this season, but will build off the foundation that Ange Postecoglou built.
Spurs were way too open defensively and needed an elite ball-winning midfielder as they transitioned to being more compact.
João Palhinha fits perfectly in the Christian Nørgaard for Thomas Frank and will provide Tottenham with elite-level ball-winning.
I am not sure he will be a regular starter every single weekend because he is limited in build-up.
So when Tottenham play elite, high-pressing teams, his skill set may not be the best.
Tottenham have really good technical midfielders, but outside of Yves Bissouma, don’t really have any pure ball winners, which is why the signing of Palhinha is so important for Frank.
He recently turned 30, but the deal is initially a loan with an option to buy, so it’s a pretty low-risk situation for Tottenham.
If he finds the same form he had at Fulham, he will be well worth the €30m buy option at the end of the season.
