Last summer, Thomas Tuchel made it abundantly clear that Bayern Munich were in desperate need of a number six.
Despite attempting to lure João Palhinha away from Fulham on transfer deadline in 2023, Der Rekordmeister missed out on the Portuguese international, leaving Tuchel significantly frustrated.
Nevertheless, twelve months later, Bayern landed Palhinha’s signature for a lucrative fee of €50 million, despite the fact they had parted ways with Tuchel months earlier.
With Vincent Kompany now in the dugout at the Allianz Arena, it appears as though the Bayern board signed Palhinha for the wrong head coach.
Since arriving in Bavaria, the 29-year-old has started one game for the record champions—away to Holstein Kiel—while simultaneously struggling to find minutes coming off the bench.
On Saturday evening, Palhinha was once again an unused substitute against Bayer Leverkusen as Aleksandar Pavlović stole the show alongside Joshua Kimmich in the heart of Bayern’s midfield.
Securing a point for Kompany’s side with a tremendous strike, the 20-year-old is proving that Der Rekordmeister did not need to sign Palhinha and, therefore, have wasted €50 million.
Regardless, the former Fulham midfielder will undoubtedly receive more minutes this season as Bayern’s schedule increases courtesy of their Champions League campaign.
However, there are question marks surrounding whether they could have found a cheaper alternative to the Portuguese international if he is just going to become an integral part of Kompany’s plans.
GGFN | Will Shopland
