Joao Palhinha doesn't cure all of Tottenham's problems, but he solves a pretty big one

New York Times

3 days ago

You may not want to do this. In fact, it would be a bizarre way to choose to spend your time in these final days of August before football returns. But think back for a minute to some of the goals Tottenham Hotspur conceded in the Premier League last season.
There were quite a few of them.
Spurs' opponents scored 65 times — their worst defensive record of the 38-game Premier League era. And among the 65, there were some recurring issues. Spurs fans often felt like they were watching their side concede the same goals over and over again.
Advertisement
Take the one where a player cuts in from out wide and finds himself on the edge of the penalty area with far more time and space than he would normally expect. He looks up, picks his spot, and finds it before anyone even bothers to challenge him.
Examples include Chelsea's Jadon Sancho at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Hugo Ekitike of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League, Diego Gomez for Brighton, or Boubacar Kamara at Villa Park, or Wolves' Rayan Ait-Nouri at Molineux, or Alexis Mac Allister for Liverpool at Anfield, or… well, you get the picture.
Then there's the one where the opposition simply break away down the middle of the pitch, with very little resistance from anyone in a Spurs shirt.
Mohamed Salah scored goals like that home and away for Liverpool last season. His team-mate Dominik Szoboszlai added another in north London. Matheus Cunha away to Wolves. Eberechi Eze for visitors Crystal Palace. Iliman Ndiaye at Everton. We could go on.
It was glaringly clear last season that this was not sustainable. Tottenham were never going to get anywhere conceding goals like these week after week.
At the end of the campaign, they changed head coach, with Ange Postecoglou being replaced by Brentford counterpart Thomas Frank. And while part of the issue might have been down to tactics, with Postecoglou's attacking approach sometimes leaving Spurs open on the break, it also comes down to personnel.
It has been years since Tottenham last had a serious defensive midfielder.
Last season, they rotated between Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in that role, but neither provided the back line and goalkeeper with the necessary protection. Bentancur is better driving forward, and does not have quite the same engine he had during his first few years at the club. Bissouma did not have a good season in the league, although he was integral to the climax of the European campaign. Both were brilliant in the Europa League final against Manchester United.
Advertisement
So when Frank arrived two months ago, he knew how important a new deep-lying 'No 6' was for this midfield.
Spurs have not fielded anyone like that since they let Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg go to Marseille last summer, on an initial loan deal that has now become permanent, following a 2023-24 league season in which he made 36 appearances under Postecoglou but only eight starts. You could easily imagine Hojbjerg fitting in well under Frank, not least because he coached him as a teenager in their native Denmark, but even then, he was always more of a scurrier than a sitter in the middle of the pitch.
'When I came in and assessed the squad, it was an area where I thought we could need something there,' Frank told reporters when asked about holding midfielders during Spurs' pre-season tour to Hong Kong and South Korea. 'I know the squad and the team, and I watched extra (games) before I went in. But it's always different when you then walk in and you feel (the players), you touch them, you work with them.'
Frank was keen to add a player with those specifically defensive skills this summer, which leads us to Joao Palhinha, who has just joined on a season's loan from Bayern Munich — the club he will likely make his Tottenham debut against in Thursday's away pre-season friendly at the Allianz Arena. 'If you look at the squad, I don't think we have his ability or package as a clear No 6 with his profile,' Frank said. 'Rodri Bentancur can play there as well, but they could complement each other well in there.'
Palhinha offers skills nobody else in the Spurs squad has, a fact highlighted by the positions he took up during his two years in the Premier League with Fulham before joining Bayern last summer (below).
He stood out as a midfielder who was uncompromisingly, unapologetically destructive.
His ability to read the game and then wrap one of his long legs around the ball made him very difficult to play past. He was integral to Fulham finishing 10th in their first season back in the top flight, their first top-half finish since 2012. Palhinha ranked top across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues for tackles in both of his years at Craven Cottage (148 and 152).
Advertisement
Tottenham could do with a bit of that.
Frank knows they need extra security against the counter-attack. The centre-backs, as good as they are, need some protection in front of them. Palhinha is the perfect player to provide it.
'His defensive qualities, his ability to be, in the centre of the pitch, very disciplined, his distribution, short, diagonal (passes) in behind and then his ability to break up play,' said Frank, listing his qualities. 'Especially if you are playing away from home or against good counter-attacking teams. It's very important to have one that is not running away or gets attracted to something.'
Even though Frank likes Bentancur, and will want youngsters Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray to continue their first-team development — remember that he planned to use the latter in midfield when he nearly joined Brentford from Leeds last summer — there are still some hugely important issues for Tottenham to fix. Not least the question of how they generate chances, given the injuries to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. They will surely have to go back into the market to add more creative quality.
But there were plenty of times last season when Spurs looked as if they were paying the price for failing to sign an experienced defensive midfielder, the type of player this group needed so much. Away from home, against counter-attacking teams, their midfielders would too often get dragged out of position, unable to stop the break.
Maybe Palhinha can help end that.
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle