Inquiring about Palhinha's issue in Bayern, their high-profile acquisition from Nix, raises questions.
Thomas Tuchel was hooked on getting Joao Palhinha as a "defensive midfielder" for FC Bayern. The guy eventually showed up a year late and struggled under Tuchel's replacement, Vincent Kompany. Max Eberl spoke about Palhinha's situation in Bayern's top transfer matters.
Sure enough, Palhinha has played a few games for Bayern. He's made four competitive appearances for the champ champions, but his playing time is minimal, totaling only 139 minutes. It's obvious that the 29-year-old isn't hitting his stride yet. Tuchel was passionate about signing Palhinha as a defensive midfielder during the summer of 2023. All the pieces were in place, and Palhinha was on board, but the deal fell apart at the last second. Fulham didn't want to let him go because they couldn't find a replacement.
Tuchel had a specific role for Palhinha in mind. He was supposed to be a true defensive midfielder, holding Bayern's game together. Not every player in the squad was on board with that. Joshua Kimmich, for instance, took it as a bit of a slight and declared that he saw himself in that role. Kompany, too, sees it that way and put Kimmich back in the center from his right-back position. He paired him with young national player Aleksander Pavlovic. Palhinha, who's been signed for around 50 million euros after a one-year delay, doesn't have a spot on the team. He hasn't made it into the starting eleven and only played the full 90 minutes in the 6-1 win against Holstein Kiel.
In the home game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen Saturday night, Palhinha didn't set foot on the pitch. What's going on? Did Bayern spend 50 million euros on a player they no longer need? Sporting director Max Eberl vehemently denies that and stands by Palhinha. "We will need him, we will need him," he said after the 1-1 draw against Leverkusen. "We are now in the fifth Bundesliga matchday, we have a Champions League matchday," said Eberl and added: "Crunch time in the competitions is March, April, May."
Eberl also sees a reason for Bayern's strong start in the "highly competitive squad." This is proven by the fact that "Joao Palhinha can certainly come into the game in this situation." At Bayern, it's like this: "If a player thinks he can do a little less, then there are others who are ready." Like Palhinha - perhaps already in his quick return to England with the Champions League game against Aston Villa (you can catch it live on ntv.de).
Kimmich, on the other hand, is thriving under Kompany and filling one of the spots Palhinha would like to have. "The coach's playing idea suits me well. I see in the way he wants to play football that I can bring my strengths to the table," said Kimmich on BR television in "Blickpunkt Sport." "Of course, I notice that he sees me in the center. However, I would never say that the right-back position is a thing of the past for me. Especially in the national team, I still play as a right-back," said the FC Bayern midfield leader. "I see it as a great strength, or it's what brought me to where I am today, that I can play in several positions."
Despite joining Bayern later than expected and facing initial challenges, Palhinha has managed to play a few games as a Soccer player. However, his playing time has been limited, totaling only 139 minutes.
With Bayern's strong squad and various positional options, Palhinha, who was signed for around 50 million euros, is currently struggling to secure a spot in the starting lineup.
