Newcastle make contact with Bayern Munich over Joao Palhinha deal

Newcastle United have made contact with Bayern Munich over a proposed permanent move for midfielder Joao Palhinha.

The Athletic reported in August that Palhinha and Marseille’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were two midfielders under consideration by Newcastle, but a move for the latter has proved complicated.

Bayern have been asking for a fee of €30million (£25,65m; $34.71m) for the 31-year-old, either in a permanent transfer or as part of an option at the end of a loan deal, but are prioritising a sale this summer.

Aston Villa were also in talks to sign Palhinha on loan earlier in the window and negotiations had continued for nearly a month, as Unai Emery’s side attempted to sign cover for long-term injury absentee Amadou Onana.

The Portugal international spent last season at Tottenham Hotspur and has been available to leave Bayern this summer. Should it advance, a move to Newcastle would be the third Premier League club of his career, having played for Fulham between 2022 and 2024.

Newcastle sold Sandro Tonali to Tottenham Hotspur summer in a deal worth £100m ($133m), while midfield partner Bruno Guimaraes moved to Arsenal for £75m ($101.47m).

Newcastle have signed 18-year-old midfielder Sean Steur from Ajax in a deal worth in the region of €25m (£21.34m; $28.6m), and 20-year-old midfielder Aladji Bamba from Monaco in a deal worth up to €40million (£34.1m; $45.94m).

The club have also had a bid of around £46million (€54m) rejected by Tottenham for midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who was also being pursued by Nottingham Forest, while they missed out on Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi, who instead joined Aston Villa.

Newcastle previously held discussions with Bayern Munich in May over a proposed move for Anthony Gordon, but the German champions would not meet Newcastle’s asking price. The England international subsequently joined Barcelona.

Does Newcastle’s move for Palhinha make sense?

Analysis from Newcastle correspondent Chris Waugh

Newcastle’s needs are glaring and Matthias Jaissle knows it, repeatedly calling journalists “smart” whenever they ask him what he is looking for in the transfer market.

Hojbjerg would have brought leadership and Premier League experience to Newcastle’s engine room, yet a move for the Marseille midfielder stalled. Palhinha would offer very similar attributes, having played for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and at the top level of European football with Bayern Munich.

Four of Newcastle’s summer signings so far have been aged 20 or under and, even if Amar Dedic joins from Benfica, none of their six additions will be over 24.

Palhinha is 31 and there is likely to be little sell-on potential from bringing in the Portugal international, yet the benefit of signing the midfielder could prove far more important than the financial cost. In a post-Guimaraes world, Newcastle look short of characters and leadership on the field. They also lack top-level nous and in-game management.

Palhinha would, theoretically, offer many of those traits. He is also suited to playing as a No 6 in a 4-2-3-1 system, which appears to be the formation Jaissle wants to field.

Having seemingly missed out on Hjobjerg, there are few experienced attainable alternatives, but Palhinha is one of them.