Astonishing statistic shows Tottenham just signed a Premier League monster in Joao Palhinha

Tottenham have signed a midfield enforcer with a serious appetite for destruction, and the numbers backing up Joao Palhinha are outrageous.

Joao Palhinha has been announced as Tottenham Hotspur’s fourth signing of the summer window, with the midfielder ready to link up with Thomas Frank’s pre-season squad.

Palhinha joins Tottenham from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan, with the North London club holding a £25.5m (€30m) option to buy.

It has been widely reported that Thomas Frank has approved the move for the Portuguese midfielder, with the new Tottenham boss seeing him as a perfect tactical fit for the squad he is currently shaping.

Joao Palhinha’s defensive numbers show why Tottenham wanted him

Statistics from Squawka have now highlighted just how dominant Palhinha is in the midfield engine room. The Bayern Munich man had a solid two-season spell at Fulham before his move to Germany.

It has now been revealed that during his time in the Premier League, no player made more tackles than Palhinha, racking up 300 in total.

Interestingly, the player who comes in second for tackles won is miles behind Palhinha. Moises Caicedo ranks in second place, managed just 191 in that time frame, while Tyrick Mitchell, 176 and Casemiro, 171, round up the list.

Beyond the sheer volume of tackles, Palhinha also leads all Premier League midfielders in duels won over the same time frame, with a staggering 547 battles won – an incredible tally that underlines his ball-winning expertise.

How Palhinha could transform the Spurs midfield

Of course, Tottenham Hotspur have been crying out for a number six in the mould of Joao Palhinha for some time now.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are the current options in that role, but neither is known for doing the dirty work – winning duels and crunching into tackles.

This very quality will certainly improve Tottenham’s midfield balance and elevate the output of more advanced players like Lucas Bergvall, as they will be afforded more freedom to impact games in the final third while Palhinha provides cover.

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