João Palinha’s move to Bayern Munich has finally been finalized.
Florian Plettenberg, who works for Sky Sports in Germany and is well versed in inside German news, tweeted on his personal social media account on Wednesday (Jan. 3), “Palinha will join Bayern. Almost everything is finalized. It’s just a matter of finalizing the smallest details between Bayern and Fulham.”
One of Bayern’s top priorities this summer was the defensive midfield position. With Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka both on the release list, the Bavarians were looking for a player who could provide solid protection at the back.
The search for a target was short-lived. There was already a player who had worn a Bayern shirt a year earlier. Late in the summer transfer window last year, Bayern completed the signing of Palinha from Fulham. After finalizing all the formalities for his move to Bayern, Palinha flew from London to Munich, Germany, where he even filmed a “wardrobe final” for Bayern’s official announcement. All that was left was the announcement.
However, the transfer fell through. Fulham’s position was that they would never let Palinha go unless they found a replacement for him. With Fulham unable to find a replacement for Palin until the last minute of the transfer window, the player’s move to world-class club Bayern fell through. Palinha then signed a new contract with Fulham, seemingly staying loyal to the club.
Bayern opened talks with Fulham again a year later to sign Palinha. Personal terms were never an issue. Palinha only wanted to move to Bayern. The problem was the 야설 transfer fee between Bayern and Fulham.
Bayern wanted a lower fee than the one agreed in the summer transfer window of 2023, as his contract was a year old. Fulham, on the other hand, felt that they could not sell a player with five years left on his contract on the cheap. Bayern issued an ultimatum, saying they could not offer more than €46 million.
Fulham and Bayern are understood to have finalized an agreement for Palinha’s transfer in the region of €51 million plus a €5 million bonus clause.
Palinha is a classic defensive midfielder. He specializes in being the first line of defense. He was one of the best tackling defensive midfielders in the English Premier League (EPL). His lack of speed is a disadvantage, but he makes up for it with his anticipation and long legs.
In modern soccer, a defensive midfielder isn”t considered a good player if he only defends well. Palinha is the type of player who is also valued for his ability to distribute the ball forward. Palinha is currently at Euro 2024 with Portugal, so it’s likely that he’ll finalize his move to Bayern as soon as the tournament is over.