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Published Jul 31, 2026, 7:41 PM GMT+1
Tom is a football journalist with five years of experience. He has been featured in the Non-League Paper, Crawley Observer, Sussex Express and The RedmenTV - producing features, news and conducting interviews.
For Football FanCast, Tom has sat down with a number of names from the industry, including Ally McCoist, Philippe Senderos and Chris Waddle. Elsewhere, he has covered the National League South final, the Formula E London Prix, Crawley Town and Brighton’s U21s.
Tom enjoys writing features about teams in the Football League and Premier League, whilst also receiving the opportunity to conduct interviews on behalf of FFC.
Having written for The RedmenTV, he is particularly an expert on all things Liverpool.
Aston Villa have already spent big to welcome midfield duo Johan Manzambi and Joao Gomes this summer. They've been rebuilding their midfield fresh from losing Youri Tielemans to Manchester United and Amadou Onana to an ACL injury.
With plenty of money to spend after selling Morgan Rogers for a British record £117m fee, however, Villa aren't done there. Unai Emery and co. now have their sights set on Joao Palhinha as they look to complete their new-look midfield.
|
James Garner (Everton) |
119 |
|
Joao Palhinha (Tottenham) |
110 |
|
Joao Gomes (Wolves) |
107 |
|
Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace) |
103 |
|
Mateus Fernandes (West Ham) |
103 |
|
Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth) |
103 |
|
Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest) |
101 |
|
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest) |
93 |
|
Florentino (Burnley) |
90 |
|
Casemiro (Man United) |
89 |
The Bayern Munich man spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur and whilst they were forced to survive on the final day, the Portuguese midfielder was once again dominant out of possession.
In fact, only one player made more tackles than the former Fulham man last season and what makes things even better for Aston Villa is what Gomes was only three away from their new target. In the duo, Emery could form an incredibly solid midfield foundation for Manzambi to thrive further forward.
REUTERS/Andrew CouldridgeThere's just a month to make a deal happen and Palhinha arguably needs the move more than those at Villa Park at this stage.
Aston Villa handed key boost in Palhinha race
As reported by BILD and relayed by Sport Witness, Palhinha now wants to join Aston Villa or a Portuguese side this summer. It's a huge boost for the Villans, who now believe that Bayern Munich will be open to negotiations.
The Bavarian club initially set a price-tag of €30m (£26m) - leaving Palhinha fuming as he found himself priced out of a return to Tottenham. Now, German journalist Heiko Niedderer believes that Bayern will have to accept a cheaper fee if they want to show the midfielder the exit door this summer.
"Bayern knows they won’t get that €30m transfer fee anymore. They should be willing to negotiate to bring the whole saga to a close, rather than dragging it out until they end up with no money at all, or even end up paying out more."
Clubs have just one month left to test the waters in hope of landing a cheaper deal. Palhinha is clearly keen on a return to the Premier League and Villa certainly need another midfielder. It is the perfect match.
Whether Bayern take the advice of Niedderer and lower the price of the former Spurs man is now the big question. It may well be the only route towards the exit door for Palhinha.
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