Journalist claims Spurs want Joao Palhinha, club need money

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Tottenham Hotspur are rivalling Wolverhampton Wanderers for the signature of Sporting midfielder Joao Palhinha before the transfer deadline.

That’s according to Portuguese journalist Filipe Dias, who was speaking on Sky Sports News earlier today.

Dias claims that Tottenham have really come forward for Palhinha in the last week, and it’s no surprise that Spurs and Wolves – with Portuguese managers in charge – want to sign Palhinha.

Dias noted that Sporting need to sell and are seeking €40million for Palhinha, with Dias adding that he thinks ‘something is about to happen’ with Sporting either selling Palhinha or Matheus Nunes.

Palhinha was backed as a perfect fit for the Premier League by Dias, with a belief that either club would be a good move for him.

“The latest information we had here this week was that, apart from Wolverhampton, Tottenham is also interested in him,” said Filipe Dias. “It makes sense because you have Nuno Espirito Santo and Bruno Lage, Portuguese managers managing Wolverhampton and Spurs, and they are pretty familiar with this player.”

“Sporting Lisbon do need to sell. Sporting’s manager wants the player to stay, but Sporting is asking around €40million (£34million) for the player. He’s 26 years old, I think he would fit the Premier League perfectly, I think either club would be good for him, we are still waiting on an update and are following this day-by-day because I think something is about to happen at Sporting Lisbon, either with Joao Palhinha or Matheus Nunes,” he added.

Palhinha played a key role for Sporting last season as they won the Portuguese title, playing mostly as a defensive midfielder under Ruben Amorim.

A huge presence at 6ft 3in tall, Palhinha is strong and aggressive in the tackle, but isn’t the quickest of midfielders given his huge frame.

Adding another defensive midfielder would seem a little odd for Tottenham given that they already have Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, whilst Oliver Skipp played well against Manchester City on Sunday.

It does feel like there would be better uses of £34million at Tottenham right now, but maybe Nuno is just that enamoured with Palhinha – especially with Sporting needing to sell.