tottenham He may have let Joao Palinha's €30m (£25.8m) purchase option expire, but it seems reports of Spurs' demise in this transfer saga may be a little premature.
Over the past few weeks, the story had started to seem pretty straightforward. Sporting wanted Palhinha back, Palhinha wanted Sporting, Bayern Munich wanted rid, and tottenham were slowly fading away In the background.
But as of now to ballSpurs remain very much in the picture. In fact, despite interest from several countries, the midfielder is apparently only considering two destinations.
One is sporting. The second is Tottenham.
Market reaction after Bayern's decision
The latest wave of interest appears to have been triggered after Bayern made their position clear. The German club have already informed Palhinha that, despite having a contract that runs until 2028, he is not part of Vincent Kompany's plans for the 2026/27 season.
Not surprisingly, this led to more parties moving forward. And it's easy to see why the phones would start ringing.
Palinha was one of Tottenham's most important players during the battle for survival. The 30-year-old finished the campaign with seven goals and two assists in 45 appearances and became one of Roberto De Zerbi's favorites along the way.
Everyone is calling, only two are being heard
Recent reporting in Portugal has portrayed the situation as sporting all or nothing. The latest update presents a slightly different picture.
According to the Portuguese report, Palhinha's representatives have received contact from several clubs in the past few days.
Other Premier League teams, a club from Spain, a club from Italy and another club from Germany have been questioned. However the names are not mentioned in the report.
However, the newspaper again states that Palhinha informed Spurs that his priority was to return to Lisbon, which contributed to Club's decision not to activate €30m (£25.8m) clause Before the deadline.
Now the thing is that preference apparently doesn't mean they've closed the door to North London completely. Instead, Tottenham are the only option currently being considered with Sporting returning.
The saga remains open
This changes the perception of the story to some extent. A Bola is now presenting a more nuanced scenario.
It appears the game is still gaining emotional mileage. Family reasons are drawing the midfielder to Lisbon and the Portuguese club are confident they can build a solid project around him.
At the same time, Tottenham continues to offer Premier League football, a manager who openly wants him to stay, and a club where he has enjoyed the most productive seasons of his career.
Bayern, meanwhile, still has a contract until 2028 and will remain the main negotiating party in any final deal.
So while clubs from four different countries have now entered talks, the latest report suggests that the actual shortlist may be much shorter than it appears.
At the moment, Palhinha's future is attracting attention from across Europe. As of this last report, only Sporting and Tottenham are actually under consideration.
