João Palhinha continues to be at odds with Bayern Munich’s decision-makers over his future at the Allianz Arena.
Amid prior reported interest from Tottenham and Arsenal, the Portuguese international is determined to make things work in Munich.
The Bayern bosses, however, do not see it the same way.
João Palhinha could be tempted by Arsenal & Tottenham
We’ve heard that Palhinha is keen to stay put in Munich ahead of the new season.
That said, there is wiggle room for this position to change depending on an absolutely top offer coming in this summer.
Arsenal and Tottenham have both been linked with João Palhinha and could fall into that category given they’ve both secured Champions League football this term.
Spurs, in particular, are in desperate need of a holding midfielder to complement more offensively minded assets like James Maddison.
Perhaps FC Bayern’s out-of-favour 30-year-old – previously hailed as a ‘world class’ operator by The Standard’s Dom Smith – could be the solution!
There isn’t a place for Palhinha at Bayern Munich
The simple fact of the matter is that Vincent Kompany does not consider Palhinha a core part of his squad plans ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The holding midfielder only picked up 986 minutes of action last term. To put that into context, it’s almost just a fifth of the minutes Joshua Kimmich (4,782) picked up in 2024/25 and less than half of the minutes Aleksandar Pavlović (2,168) accrued.
| Ranking based on minutes played | Players | Minutes played |
| 19 | Jonas Urbig | 1,022 |
| 20 | Joao Palhinha | 986 |
| 21 | Sacha Boey | 921 |
* Bayern Munich players ranked by minutes played in all competitions in 2024/25, via Transfermarkt
Things didn’t improve significantly for the former Fulham midfielder during the FIFA Club World Cup. Joao Palhinha played only a single half of football in a 1-0 defeat to Benfica in the group stage.
Barring an injury crisis of epic proportions, it’s difficult to see where exactly the footballer will get his minutes in the upcoming campaign.
With that in mind, if an offer comes in from Tottenham or Arsenal, which Bayern are prepared to accept, it would probably be in his best interests to seek pastures new.
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