adminTottenham’s bold summer spending spree has come at a cost—one of last season’s key performers has now lost his spot in the squad. So far, Spurs have splashed over £200million on new arrivals, making them one of the biggest spenders in world football this window—and they’re not done yet.
Roberto De Zerbi was promised significant backing, and the club has delivered. Tottenham have already secured Andy Robertson, Marcos Sensi, and Jan Paul van Hecke, and have now followed up with two blockbuster midfield deals: Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85million and Sandro Tonali from Newcastle for £92million.
It’s a major departure from Spurs’ usual frugality, but consecutive bottom-half finishes appear to have jolted the club into action. While fans are thrilled with the investment, not everyone at the club will be celebrating.
Palhinha set to miss out on permanent move
João Palhinha was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable season for Tottenham, arriving on loan and impressing despite the team’s struggles.
However, Spurs have opted against triggering the £26million buy option in his loan deal—a figure widely considered reasonable, especially given Bayern Munich had previously paid £47.4million to sign him from Fulham.
According to Tom Barclay and Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have now fully moved on from Palhinha, with no plans to revisit a deal following their two high-profile midfield acquisitions.
Romano posted on X: “João Palhinha will not stay at Spurs this summer despite his desire to continue at the club. The decision has been made after Tonali and Mateus Fernandes signings, as @TomBarclay_reports.”
De Zerbi wanted to keep Palhinha
What makes the decision intriguing is that De Zerbi publicly expressed a desire to keep the Portuguese midfielder at the end of last season, saying: “100%. We have to start from this type of person.
We need reliable people as well as reliable players and Palhinha is one of the best. I want to see players with the same attitude, with the same passion, with the same spirit and personality. We are lucky to have Palhinha with us.”
Ultimately, though, the arrivals of Tonali and Fernandes—combined with existing options like Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, and Conor Gallagher—leave little room for Palhinha.
While he might have been preferred over some of those names in an ideal world, his loan status made it easier for Spurs to let him go rather than risk overcrowding the squad and being forced to offload a permanent player later.
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