Both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur need midfield reinforcement this summer.
Despite both United and Spurs making a Europa League final, the latter coming out victorious, they had beyond poor Premier League seasons.
Finishing 15th and 17th respectively, they both struggled and the midfield position was often a problem area.
One United midfielder, Bruno Fernandes was the bright spark for the team.
However, Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount all struggled, the latter suffering from fitness issues.
Having a midfield featuring Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Sarr, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski sounds great on paper for Tottenham.
This was not evident in 2024/25.
Spurs often got bullied in midfield under manager Ange Postecoglou.
With their new man in charge Thomas Frank, their midfield is rumoured to through a complete revamp.
They have attempted to activate the release of Nottingham Forest Morgan Gibbs-White, but the Midlands club have threatened legal action.
It is said that the move is on hold for now, and Tottenham (along with Man United) are targeting another midfielder to improve this area of the pitch.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in battle for Bayern Munich midfielder
According to reports, both Man United and Tottenham Hotspur are targeting Bayern Munich midfielder João Palhinha.
The Portugal move to the German giants from Fulham last summer for a fee of €51 million.
However, he failed to grab a stranglehold on a starting player in Bayern’s midfield.
Palhinha made just 17 league appearances as Bayern secured the Bundesliga title, with just six starts.
With 667 total minutes played, he averaged 39.23 minutes player per game domestically.
Aleksandar Pavlović, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were all firmly ahead of him in the pecking order, leading to talks of a transfer away.
Palhinha is only a year removed from being one of the Premier League’s most wanted midfielders across Europe.
He is bound to still gather some interest and would be a valuable asset to both team’s midfield.
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