Spurs ready to “lead chase” to sign £80m “cheat code”

TEAMtalk recently reported that Tottenham Hotspur have the option to make Joao Palhinha’s loan deal permanent for a fee of £26m in the summer transfer window.

However, they also carried quotes from journalist Alex Crook, who has suggested that it is not a foregone conclusion that Spurs opt to pay that £26m fee.

Crook said: “I think there is still a doubt whether they will sign him (Palhinha). Of course, there is a permanent option in the deal, but it is not guaranteed that Tottenham will trigger that. I like Joao Palhinha as a player.”

The 30-year-old defensive midfielder has scored five goals and provided three assists in all competitions this season, per Sofascore, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will join permanently from Bayern Munich.

Palhinha ranks within the bottom 15% of his positional peers in the Men’s Big 5 Leagues over the past 365 days for progressive passes per 90 (3.26), per FBref, and Spurs may want a more progressive option in that role in the future.

Spurs want to sign Premier League sensation

In fact, the Europa League champions are reportedly looking at a Premier League midfielder who could be the end of Palhinha’s time in North London.

According to journalist Dean Jones, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to sign Crystal Palace central midfielder Adam Wharton to bolster Thomas Frank’s squad.

The reporter claims that the Lilywhites are planning to “lead the chase” to sign the England international, suggesting that they anticipate interest from other teams in the former Blackburn Rovers star.

Jones adds that Palace’s current stance is that they will not allow any more exits, with Marc Guehi due to sign for Manchester City, in the January transfer window.

That means that Spurs may have to wait until the summer transfer window to get a deal done for the left-footed talent, who is reportedly valued at around £80m.

Why Spurs should sign Adam Wharton

The Lilywhites should push to sign the English star, whether a deal comes this month or in the summer, because he could add something different to Frank’s current options in the middle of the park.

Connor Gallagher was recently signed on a permanent deal from Atletico Madrid to bolster their midfield ranks, but he is a fairly similar player in style to Palhinha, as shown by the chart below.

The former Chelsea star is another central midfielder who is all-action and likes to make tackles and interceptions, but is not a very progressive or creative passer.

Wharton, meanwhile, is an exceptional progressive and creative passer who can dictate play and spark attacks with his ability to play quick and accurate forward passes from a holding midfield role.

Analyst Ben Mattinson went as far as to describe his ability to play progressive passes with both feet as a “cheat code” in midfield, and Spurs do not have anyone like him at the moment.

Wharton’s statistics over the past 365 days illustrate the gulf in quality in possession between him and Palhinha, who, as aforementioned, offers very little to the team on the ball in build-up.

As you can see in the table above, the Palace star offers significantly more to his team as a progressive passer in the middle of the park, which could help to solve some of the problems that Spurs have had this season.

Tottenham currently rank 17th in the Premier League for xG created (20.1), per FBref, and that may be partially down to the lack of progressive passing that they have in midfield, as they are unable to get the ball from back to front effectively enough to give their forward players chances to score.

Wharton could solve that problem by creating chances and providing progressive passes on a regular basis in matches to allow the attacking players in the squad to thrive, which they have been unable to do with Palhinha’s lack of progressive play.

Given that Gallagher is similar to the Portuguese star, as a duel-winning midfielder who lacks technical quality, signing Wharton could mean that Spurs have no need for Palhinha anymore.

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Frank could build his team around a midfield pairing of Gallagher and Wharton, as they complement each other’s games with their respective qualities, and that would leave no need for a £26m deal for Palhinha, which is why signing the Palace star could be the end of his time at the club.