Newcastle United transfer target Joao Palhinha is set to join Portuguese club Benfica despite interest from the Premier League.
Aston Villa had been linked with taking the Bayern Munich midfielder on loan while Newcastle reportedly offered a permanent deal for the player. Instead, Benfica have swooped in to bring Palhinha back to Portugal.
The 31-year-old spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, who have since signed Sandro Tonali from Newcastle in a deal worth up to £100million. And with Newcastle looking to strengthen their midfield options, Palhinha emerged as a potential target.
Joao Palhinha, Newcastle United target.placeholder image
Joao Palhinha, Newcastle United target. | Getty Images
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Matthias Jaissle’s side have already missed out on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this month and will now miss out on Palhinha too as they look at alternative options. Manchester City’s Nico Gonzalez is on Newcastle’s radar but has been described as one of many players being looked at, with competition expected for the Spaniard.
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Various reports from Portugal claim Benfica are set to conclude the signing of Palhinha from Bayern Munich. Record have reported that the transfer is ‘imminent’, with Newcastle described as a ‘serious threat’ to hijack the deal until Palhinha rejected the opportunity to return to the Premier League in favour of Portugal.
Newcastle have made six signings already this summer with Ewen Jaouen, Bazoumana Toure, Sean Steur, Aladji Bamba, Lukas Hornicek and Ama Dedic joining the club. But it has been an active window from the club on both fronts with the high-profile exits of Anthony Gordon, Tonali and Guimaraes all sanctioned.
Now, the club’s priority is to bring in an experienced midfielder in the final weeks of the transfer window.
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