Following reports on Sunday, Newcastle United has reportedly added the 31-year-old Portuguese international to their transfer radar, alongside Aston Villa. Palhinha is seen by the Magpies as a prime alternative should the proposed transfer of Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg from Olympique de Marseille ultimately fall through.

This development suggests Newcastle could soon strengthen its defensive midfield with either Höjbjerg, a former Bayern player, or Palhinha. Palhinha initially moved to Munich in 2025, a year after his transfer from Fulham FC was scuppered at the last minute by Fulham’s refusal to release him. He had been a key target for former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.

The Bavarian giants had previously assured the Portuguese midfielder of their continued interest. However, by the time he eventually arrived in Munich for a reported fee of around 50 million euros, Tuchel had already departed. His successor, Vincent Kompany, found limited use for the purely defensive-minded tackler.

Last season, Palhinha enjoyed a successful loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur. However, a permanent move collapsed due to Bayern’s financial demands. Neither Tottenham, nor Palhinha’s former club Sporting, nor their fierce rivals Benfica, were prepared to meet the reported 35 million euro asking price.

Who is eyeing João Palhinha?

After Aston Villa’s sporting director, Damian Vidagany, publicly confirmed interest in Palhinha on Friday, following Villa’s 2-1 friendly defeat against Bayern in Hong Kong, Newcastle has now reportedly joined the pursuit.

Newcastle United, having recently seen central midfielders Sandro Tonali (to Tottenham) and Bruno Guimaraes (to champions Arsenal) depart, possesses substantial funds, with total transfer fees amounting to 204.5 million euros. However, the squad of new German coach Matthias Jaissle is in urgent need of a defensive midfielder.

Getty Images

Who could still reinforce Newcastle United’s midfield?

The primary target remains Höjbjerg, who was part of Bayern Munich’s youth setup from 2012 to 2016 before forging his career with Southampton, Tottenham, and later Marseille in the Premier League and France. However, if the Danish international’s transfer were to stall, Palhinha could swiftly emerge as a leading candidate.

Financially, a transfer should not be an issue for Newcastle, even if the theoretically wealthiest club in the world has adopted a more measured spending approach in recent times.