Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Palhinha has admitted that he dreams of playing Premier League football amid interest from Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, while speaking to Record.
At the age of just 25, however, there is plenty of time on Palhinha’s side.
Mere weeks after signing a new contract with the current Primeira Liga leaders, the tough-tackling midfielder will not be heading to Elland Road or Molineux any time soon.
Wolves were close to agreeing a deal for the £14 million-rated Palhinha at the start of the summer, according to O Jogo, while Leeds made an enquiry of their own in September (the Mirror, 6/9/2020, page 68).
But, after spending last season on loan at Braga and actually finishing ahead of Sporting in the table, Palhinha obviously felt that he had a point to prove when he returned to Lisbon at the end of the 2019/20 season.
With their belligerent ball-winner patrolling the centre of the park like a foam-mouthed pit-bull, Ruben Amorim’s Sporting are now four points clear in top spot and dreaming of a first Portuguese league title since 2002.
“At that time there were things that were talked about and that were about to happen,” Palhinha said, opening up on the speculation that swirled around him over the summer.
“Obviously, I have that dream and goal (to play in the Premier League), because we all recognise the value of the English league. But I am not obsessed with it.
“I want to do a good job at Sporting, evolve as a player, play as many games as possible for the club. For the rest, it’s about letting things happen.
“Given my characteristics, the English championship was the one that I would most like and where I see myself playing the most.”
Averaging 3.4 successful tackles a game and 1.2 interceptions, not to mention an 87 per cent pass completion rate, the statistics certainly paint a picture of a midfielder capable of thriving at the heart of a Marcelo Bielsa team.
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