Sporting are about to announce a contract extension for João Palhinha. As reported by the local media and confirmed by manager Ruben Amorim in a press conference, the midfielder is set to be rewarded with a new deal.
As newspaper O Jogo writes about it today, they recall that the Lions had been rejecting approaches for the player in the summer, and one of those was from Tottenham Hotspur.
They write that following the player’s success last season, Palhinha was linked to Spurs, Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain.
In Tottenham’s case, it’s said that the London side ‘bumped’ into the price demanded by Sporting, who were convinced to work hard to keep the 26-year-old for longer.
O Jogo doesn’t bring details on Spurs offer, but mentions that the approaches that got to Alvalade in the summer were below €40m.João Palhinha was protected by a €60m release clause at that time, and that won’t change with the new contract.
It’s now said that PSG could soon come up with a new bid for the midfielder, and Sporting continue to be certain of not negotiating for less than €40m. So if Tottenham are still interested, they probably have an idea of how much it’d cost and the competition they’ll have for the Portuguese star.
