João Palhinha says he wants to stay at Tottenham. The midfielder, who scored the decisive goal against Everton on Sunday as the club preserved their Premier League status, has been on a season’s loan from Bayern Munich.
Spurs have an option to make the deal permanent for €30m (£26m), with the manager, Roberto De Zerbi, saying he “100%” wants it to happen. Palhinha has now indicated he would be open to it as well.
“Since the first day I arrived I feel at home,” Palhinha said. “From the supporters, the crowd. Top club. Who doesn’t want to play for Tottenham and stay here? I have everything here. But this is like a marriage. What I can say to you is I would really like to be here and I enjoy it a lot this season with this club – even with it being a tough season.”
Spurs stayed up on the final day – two points clear of West Ham, who filled the final relegation spot – after making an SOS call to De Zerbi. His return of 11 points from seven games was enough. Palhinha is confident the club can learn from this wretched season and do much better next time.
“I think the next season will hopefully be really different and I truly believe,” he said. “This season will help Tottenham for the future. Analyse the season, what we did wrong, what we did well and it will be a big improvement and a big relief after the season.”
