Thomas Tuchel was just waiting for this: a strong number 6. Indeed, the Bayern Munich coach had noticed that he lacked a real recovery in his eleven. He did not consider Joshua Kimmich or Leon Goretzka as pure defensive midfielders. What had also not failed to astonish in Germany, where the two men have long held together the Bavarian environment.
The priority was first to recruit a scorer to finally replace Robert Lewandowski, who left for Barça a year ago and whose absence was felt enormously last season. Bayern found him with Harry Kane, breaking the €100m mark that he had so far refused to cross. And even if it means spending a lot this summer, he did not hesitate when it came to finding an agreement with Fulham.
Bayern took out the checkbook again
As we told you, Bayern targeted João Palhinha, the Cottagers defensive midfielder, recruited only a year ago from Sporting CP. Fulham had spent €20 million to lure him, while Palhinha had made a strong impression with the Portuguese selection. Very quickly, faced with such an opportunity, the midfielder said yes to the German club.
But it was necessary to convince Fulham, who intended to rely on the Portuguese this season. Bayern therefore used drastic measures by dropping a check for €65 million, as reported by Sky Germany on Friday. The 28-year-old Portuguese international will sign a contract until 2028 with the Munich club.
