Aston Villa are in negotiations to bring Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha to Villa Park, with the Portugal international emerging as a priority target following the serious knee injury suffered by Amadou Onana.
Onana ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while representing Belgium at the World Cup, leaving Villa in urgent need of reinforcements in the middle of the park. Palhinha, 31, has been identified as the man to fill that void.
Sources close to the player indicate he has yet to reach a decision, though he is open to the prospect of joining Villa — a move he considers among his most attractive options at this stage.
What the clubs are saying
Villa director of football Damian Vidagany confirmed the interest publicly, telling German outlet Bild on Friday: "Joao Palhinha is a very good player who would fit our plans. We are in talks, but there is currently no agreement. If something were to happen, it would always be based on the great respect we have for Bayern."
Those comments came in the wake of Villa's 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in a pre-season friendly played in Hong Kong over the weekend — a match in which Palhinha came on as a substitute.
Bayern Munich are prepared to sanction a departure for the defensive midfielder, who arrived at the Allianz Arena for £47.4 million from Fulham two years ago. Most recently, Palhinha spent last season on loan at Tottenham, where he played a key role in helping the club avoid relegation. Tottenham held a £26m purchase option but chose not to activate it.
It is understood that manager Roberto de Zerbi had been eager to make the signing permanent, but a deal with Bayern Munich could not be reached.
A busy summer at Villa Park
The move for Palhinha is the latest chapter in a hectic transfer window for Unai Emery's side, who won the UEFA Europa League last season. Villa have already said goodbye to Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea, Youri Tielemans, who moved to Manchester United, and Lucas Digne, who departed for Paris St-Germain.
On the arrivals front, Villa have moved quickly to reshape their squad, bringing in Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea, Joao Gomes from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Johan Manzambi from Freiburg, and Moudou Keba Cisse from LASK Linz.
