Bayern Munich have reached an agreement to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham.
The midfielder, who played four times for Portugal at Euro 2024 as they reached the quarter-finals, was close to completing the move last summer before the deal fell through, but a transfer worth €51million (£43.1m, $54.9m) plus €5m in add-ons has now been agreed.
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He has starred for Fulham in the past two seasons having joined from Sporting Lisbon in 2022, and with Vincent Kompany the new head coach at the German giants, who missed out on silverware last season, Palhinha looks set to become an integral member of his midfield.
Here, we take a look at what Bayern can expect from Palhinha and where he will fit in.
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The prototypical defensive midfielder
Bayern will be getting a ball-winner in Palhinha, with his off-ball work one of his key strengths. He averages 5.1 tackles per 90 minutes, placing him among the top one per cent of Premier League midfielders. His 1.5 interceptions per 90 puts him in the top 10 per cent, while 1.9 blocks per 90 puts him in the top five per cent of his positional peers.
The 29-year-old’s style is based on his defending intensity, disrupting opponent moves, and ball recoveries and interceptions, while his aggressiveness prevents goals and reclaims possession. His height and strength allow him to cover ground and win duels, rarely being outmuscled by opponents. This physicality means he can maintain possession under pressure and provide a reliable defensive anchor. His ability to hold off defenders and win aerial battles adds a layer of dominance to Bayern’s midfield.
On top of these attributes, Palhinha also has good positional awareness and knows when to sit back and cover space, offering an outlet for his team-mates during build-up play.
His quick movement to condense space when possession is lost aligns with Bayern’s counter-pressing and his switching of play can help Bayern exploit spaces and stretch the opposition’s defence, thereby creating attacking opportunities from wide areas.
How will this help Bayern?
Under Thomas Tuchel last season, Bayern experimented with Konrad Laimer and Joshua Kimmich as the lone single pivot. While they are more comfortable on the ball than Palhinha, Kimmich did not have his best season in 2023-24. He seemed to struggle to dictate the tempo and sometimes became a liability in possession and left Bayern vulnerable to counter-attacks. At the beginning of the season, Tuchel even expressed his belief that Kimmich was not a true No 6. Kimmich disagreed with his head coach. It created a difficult context around the year.
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Aleksandar Pavlovic, still only 20, is held in huge regard in Bavaria but is a ball-player rather than a ball-winner. The addition of Palhinha, who ended the 2023-24 season with the most successful tackles in the Premier League (154), brings a much-needed presence. His ability to snuff out opposition chances and cover ground makes him a prototypical defensive midfielder.
Palhinha’s ability to switch the play will benefit players like new signing Michael Olise, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman, who relish one-on-one situations against the opposition full-back. This also helps attacking midfielders such as Jamal Musiala and Thomas Muller, who find pockets of space and make intelligent runs.
By catching the opposition off guard, switches of play allow Muller and Musiala to exploit defensive gaps, receive the ball in dangerous areas, and link up with forward players, such as Harry Kane.
Here, in the Euro 2024 quarter-final against France, Palhinha scans and sees Rafael Leao in space. He switches the ball from a crowded area to Leeo, who is then put into a one-v-one scenario against Jules Kounde, much as Bayern will hope Olise, Sane and Coman — if he stays at the club — will be able to do from Palhinha’s quick switches.
What will Palhinha’s role be?
It is likely Palhinha and Pavlovic would be paired together and could form a well-balanced midfield partnership. If not used as a full-back, which is more likely, Kimmich could be a potential foil, too. But Palhinha’s duel-winning combined with Pavlovic’s passing range would achieve defensive stability and ball progression.
He will be key in defensive transitions, with his ability to kill off attacks and condense space integral to Bayern’s possession-based style.
In this game against Luton Town in September, we see Luton’s Jacob Brown carrying the ball, looking to attack the back line. Palhinha quickly recovers and wins the ball, demonstrating his ability to stop counter-attacks and manage transition phases.
Kompany’s style will aim to balance defensive solidity with different attacking shapes. During build-up, Palhinha would be one of the holding midfielders and provide a reliable outlet for the centre-backs or the goalkeeper, as he can keep possession.
Also, Kompany likes a high back line and uses a man-to-man approach, which requires disciplined and physical midfielders. Palhinha suits these characteristics, as he can intercept passes and win one-on-one duels. In defensive transitions, Palhinha’s ability to position himself well and read the game would help Bayern quickly regain possession and counter-press.
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While Palhinha is primarily a defensive midfielder, he can support attacking transitions. His ability to win the ball and quickly distribute it to more advanced, risk-taking players like Musiala or Sane can help Bayern exploit spaces between the opposition’s centre-backs and full-backs.
Here, in this game against Aston Villa in February, the Villa defender Pau Torres’ body shape indicated he would pass to John McGinn, which Palhinha anticipated.
As soon as McGinn receives the ball, Palhinha applies pressure, forcing McGinn to face away from the opponent’s goal. Palhinha then wins the ball cleanly, leading to a two-vs-two situation.
In defensive phases, Palhinha’s strong positional sense will be important. He will focus on intercepting passes and making tackles rather than chasing players, so Bayern’s defensive structure remains compact. His physical presence will be a significant asset, particularly in maintaining Bayern’s high defensive line and man-to-man marking system.
What are his weaknesses?
The Portuguese can occasionally be slow to react to tackles if he has failed to anticipate the play quickly enough, which may leave him exposed. His conservative passing also means he is not the primary playmaker in build-up phases.
He averages 0.27 progressive carries per 90 (putting him among the bottom two per cent of Premier League midfielders), 3.2 progressive passes per 90 (bottom 13 per cent), and 3.2 passes into the final third per 90 (bottom 32 per cent). While he is good at recycling possession, he is less effective in driving the play forward or making progressive passes.
As shown below using data from smarterscout — which gives players a series of ratings from zero to 99 based on how often they perform a specific action or how effective they are — while he shows an ability to advance the ball, he is conservative in his play style with minimal involvement in carrying or dribbling. His solid ball retention under pressure supports maintaining possession, but he contributes minimally to creating goalscoring opportunities through ball progression.
Palhinha’s lack of agility and speed under pressure is an area of concern. Unlike more agile defensive midfielders at leading European sides, such as Manchester City’s Rodri or Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid, Palhinha may struggle to evade high-pressure situations, making him susceptible to pressing traps.
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During build-up play, Palhinha’s role will focus more on stability and recycling possession rather than being the focal point of progression. His awareness of when to cover space will be essential in protecting Bayern’s back line, allowing more creative players to drive the play forward. He is likely to be paired or in a midfield three with more adventurous midfielders who can take on the responsibility of vertical passes.
Overall, Palhinha brings solidity to Bayern. He allows risk-taking players to do what they do best, without the worry of a devastating counter-attack.
While his build-up play and agility under pressure may not be his strongest suits, his role will be more focused on defensive transitions, maintaining stability, and providing a physical edge in the midfield.
Kompany and Bayern supporters can look forward to a more balanced midfield with Palhinha’s arrival.
(Top photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
