Joao Palhinha was heavily linked with Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer but, as Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim tells A Bola, it wasn’t difficult to convince him to sign a new contract instead.
One of the biggest clubs in Portugal were left a tad red faced last season when a man they loaned to Braga finished ahead of the Lions in third place.
Unsurprisingly, Sporting didn’t wait around when Palhinha’s short-term spell at Braga came to an end, ensuring the ball-winning midfielder felt wanted back at Estadio Jose Alvalade.
So much so they offered him a new, long-term contract complete with a £10,000-a-week pay rise – an opportunity Palhinha snapped up (A Bola).
“I told him (he) was going to be an important player. He immediately made a point of renewing (his contract) so it wasn’t at all difficult to convince him,” Amorim said when asked how he managed to keep hold of the coveted enforcer.
A Leeds side scouring the market for a dynamic, aggressive central midfielder earlier in the summer made an enquiry (The Mirror, 6 September, page 68) while Wolves were close to agreeing a deal of their own for £14 million-rated Palhinha (O Jogo).
Six games into the new season, however, Sporting will be glad to have him around.
Palhinha has shone for a side that’s sitting pretty at the top of the table with five wins from six games, completing 3.3 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game.
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