Tottenham Hotspur currently have two players on loan at the club, but only one of them has done enough to earn a permanent stay in North London.
Signing players on loan-to-buy deals has been a common practice at Tottenham Hotspur in recent seasons. Therefore, it was no surprise when Joao Palhinha joined the club on a temporary basis, with the option to make the deal permanent.
Spurs went on to sign Randal Kolo Muani later in the summer transfer window, but this was a straight loan, meaning he is set to return to PSG after the conclusion of the season.
Despite this, Tottenham could still look to place a bid for Muani, but whether this will happen remains to be seen.
Tottenham should not look to sign Randal Kolo Muani
There was a lot of optimism concerning Muani when he first joined Spurs. After all, the striker netted eight times in 16 Serie A appearances for Juventus last season.
However, Muani’s time in the Premier League has been very underwhelming. The 27-year-old is yet to register a single goal contribution in domestic competitions and he has only really had one standout game, which was against PSG in the Champions League.
Muani is a hard worker off the ball, but he lacks the presence of Dominic Solanke and the goalscoring ability of Richarlison. Also, it seems his problems in front of goal go beyond finishing because his xG metric in the league is only 1.33xG. This is simply not good enough for a centre forward.
Based on the Frenchman’s performances up to this point, it is difficult to see why Tottenham would pay a potentially high transfer fee to bring him to the club during the summer.
Joao Palhinha at Spurs is a different story
In contrast, Joao Palhinha has scored with two overhead kicks, contributing to his five goals in all competitions. Funnily enough, this is not even the reason he was brought to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Palhinha’s standout quality is his ball winning abilities. The Portugal international has shown this by making more tackles than any other player in the Premier League this season and he is in the top 10 for most duels won.
Some will argue the midfielder is not good enough on the ball, but he is a useful player around when the team are looking to be more secure at the back.
Making Palhinha a permanent signing does not mean he needs to start every game, it simply gives Tottenham the option of having a great player in their squad for the matches when he is most needed.
READ MORE – Dominic Solanke opens up on first Champions League goal as he sets target for Tottenham