A move back to England so soon does not look to be in the cards.
Bayern Munich midfielder João Palhinha looks determined to stay another season in Bavaria — as reported by Sky Sport DE journalist Florian Plettenberg:
Despite interest from England, João #Palhinha currently has no intention of leaving FC Bayern. He and his family are therefore not holding talks with other clubs at the moment.
His main goal remains to break through at FC Bayern, a move he has always dreamed of. Should Bayern suggest a transfer, he would reconsider his situation in the summer.
As with [center-back Kim Min-jae], Bayern are open to offers but are not actively pushing for a sale at this stage.
@SkySportDE
BFW Analysis
From a human perspective it would be hard to see the club so ruthless to a player who wants to be here and has not had much chance yet owing to injury.
But the issues with Bayern’s squad imbalance have been clear for some time. In Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlović, Tom Bischof, and it now looks like Leon Goretzka, the Bavarians have checked just about all the boxes in central midfield — established veterans as well as young blood with the potential to be stars for both Bayern and Germany. And they still are looking at the need to add a different profile to reinvigorate midfield a season down the line.
Palhinha, who turns 30 in July, solves none of those by either profile (a destroyer whose role was more natural under Thomas Tuchel than Vincent Kompany) or age. A potential lack of playing time in 2025/26 is not likely to make his future transfer value any higher.
But Bayern can’t make him move, and if he stays, we should root for him — while continuing to ask questions of the sporting judgments that led the team here.
Looking for more thoughts and discussion on Bayern Munich’s performance over the weekend against Mainz and where things stand in the Bundesliga? What about some chatter on whether or not bringing Leroy Sané back is a good idea? Finally, we hit on how Tom Bischof might fit in at Bayern Munich and whether or not that undermines the work being done on Bayern Munich’s campus. You can get all of that and more on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
