Aston Villa and Newcastle United have been given encouragement in their pursuit of João Palhinha, with Bayern Munich desperate for a sale.
BILD cover the midfielder today, including comments from journalists Christian Falk and Heiko Niedderer on the BILD podcast Bayern Insider.
Awkwardness at Bayern
The duo explain that Bayern and João Palhinha find themselves in an uncomfortable position this summer. He has returned from a successful loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur last season. Both sides had hoped to make that move permanent.
But Bayern’s demands for €30m put an end to that idea. Tottenham simply did not want to pay that figure and walked away. That, reportedly, has left Palhinha annoyed by the treatment.
“In terms of raw numbers, it’s a nosedive,” explained Falk.
“He joined FC Bayern for €50m; now he’s worth only €15m, and Bayern can’t get rid of him. Tottenham didn’t want to pay the €30m agreed upon in the clause; he wasn’t worth that much to them.”
Premier League ready
Now the German giants are hoping for other suitors to come forwards. Sport Witness have already covered Aston Villa’s interest. A report yesterday, meanwhile, stated that Newcastle are pressing forward with their own potential pursuit.
Niedderer believes that the midfielder has proven he’s perfectly suited to the Premier League game.
“He’s an athletic fighter,” he explained.
“He demonstrated that at Tottenham during the second half of the season, where he was absolutely vital. He fought relentlessly. And he fits perfectly into that kind of English team. He battles, wins back possession, and initiates attacks. At Bayern, it just didn’t work out.”
Aston Villa and Newcastle chance
BILD state that the ‘the hope’ is now that Bayern will be open to negotiations. Palhinha and his camp would like a move to Portugal, or Aston Villa. Newcastle area also in the mix.
The plus for both sides is that Bayern now know they won’t get near to €30m, according to Niedderer.
“Bayern knows they won’t get that €30m transfer fee anymore,” he concluded.
“They should be willing to negotiate to bring the whole saga to a close, rather than dragging it out until they end up with no money at all, or even end up paying out more.”
