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Aston Villa have already spent big to welcome midfield duo Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes this summer. They've been rebuilding their midfield fresh from losing Youri Tielemans to Manchester United and Amadou Onana to an ACL injury.
With plenty of money to spend after selling Morgan Rogers for a British record £117m fee, however, Villa aren't done there. Unai Emery and co. now have their sights set on Joao Palhinha as they look to complete their new-look midfield.
Most tackles won in the Premier League 25/26
James Garner (Everton)
119
Joao Palhinha (Tottenham)
110
Joao Gomes (Wolves)
107
Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace)
103
Mateus Fernandes (West Ham)
103
Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth)
103
Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
101
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest)
93
Florentino (Burnley)
90
Casemiro (Man United)
89
The Bayern Munich man spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur and whilst they were forced to survive on the final day, the Portuguese midfielder was once again dominant out of possession.
In fact, only one player made more tackles than the former Fulham man last season and what makes things even better for Aston Villa is what Gomes was only three away from their new target. In the duo, Emery could form an incredibly solid midfield foundation for Manzambi to thrive further forward.
REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
There's just a month to make a deal happen and Palhinha arguably needs the move more than those at Villa Park at this stage.
As reported by BILD and relayed by Sport Witness, Palhinha now wants to join Aston Villa or a Portuguese side this summer. It's a huge boost for the Villans, who now believe that Bayern Munich will be open to negotiations.
The Bavarian club initially set a price-tag of €30m (£26m) - leaving Palhinha fuming as he found himself priced out of a return to Tottenham. Now, German journalist Heiko Niedderer believes that Bayern will have to accept a cheaper fee if they want to show the midfielder the exit door this summer.
"Bayern knows they won’t get that €30m transfer fee anymore. They should be willing to negotiate to bring the whole saga to a close, rather than dragging it out until they end up with no money at all, or even end up paying out more."
Clubs have just one month left to test the waters in hope of landing a cheaper deal. Palhinha is clearly keen on a return to the Premier League and Villa certainly need another midfielder. It is the perfect match.
Whether Bayern take the advice of Niedderer and lower the price of the former Spurs man is now the big question. It may well be the only route towards the exit door for Palhinha.