Roberto De Zerbi decides first Tottenham transfer that will cost club £26m | Football | Sport
Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed he will be pushing the Tottenham board to make Joao Palhinha’s move from Bayern Munich a permanent one when the transfer window opens. Palhinha joined Bayern at the beginning of the 2024/25 season after an impressive spell with Fulham in the Premier League, but was never fancied by Vincent Kompany upon the Belgian’s arrival.
As such, after just one season in Germany, Palhinha was shipped to Spurs at the start of the current campaign, where he once again had to bide his time for starting XI minutes. However, since the arrival of De Zerbi, Palhinha has found form, with the Italian boss keen to keep him around beyond the summer transfer window.
The ball is in Tottenham’s court, given the 2025 Europa League winners boast a £26million option to buy. When quizzed about Palhinha’s future, he explained: “100 per cent [I want to keep him]. We have to start from this type of person. More than players, we need reliable people, reliable players. Palhinha is one of the best, as a player for sure, but as a guy,” said the Tottenham boss
“I want to see the player with the same passion, the same attitude, the same spirit, the same personality, and we are lucky to have with us Palhinha.”
Things might also depend on which league they find themselves in next season, given Spurs still haven’t secured their Premier League status heading into the final three games of the campaign. Sunday’s win against Aston Villa certainly swung momentum in Spurs’ favour, but De Zerbi isn’t taking anything for granted.
On Tottenham’s upcoming match against Leeds United, he remarked: “First of all, we’re going to play against one of the best teams in this moment because in the last five, six games they won against Man United. They drew in Bournemouth, playing well. They won at home two times, Wolves and Burnley. For that, we have a big respect. We can’t think in a different way. We have to keep this mentality.
“We must remain humble. Nothing changes. We have to prepare an important game. The same way we are playing. We didn’t play so well in Wolves, but in the first 30 minutes, we played okay. Against Brighton at home, we played 90 minutes and extra time very well. We have to stay focused on this type of performance. This type of attitude. This type of spirit and showing the quality of the players.”
