Newcastle back in for former Tottenham star and Aston Villa target amid transfer hijack threat

Newcastle United have rekindled their interest in Joao Palhinha after Aston Villa’s attempt to sign the Bayern Munich midfielder on loan was rejected, TEAMtalk can confirm.

Palhinha, 31, has been told by Bayern that he has no future at the club after returning from his loan spell at Tottenham Hotspur, where the Portugal international played a key role in keeping Roberto De Zerbi’s team in the Premier League last season.

Indeed, the experienced campaigner scored the winner for Tottenham in their last day of the season win over Everton, with Palhinha describing the act as “one of the most important days in my career”.

Spurs ultimately chose to pursue Newcastle‘s Sandro Tonali instead of Palhinha, with the Italian midfielder signing on a deal worth up to £100million. But interest in the Portugal international has remained, and he was open to joining Villa this summer.

However, Villa‘s proposal was based on a loan with an option to buy, and TEAMtalk understands Bayern have made it clear that they want a permanent transfer for the former Fulham man who cost them £47.4m.

That has reopened the door for Newcastle, who are prepared to consider a permanent deal if they can reach an agreement with both Bayern and the player.

TEAMtalk understands that while Villa’s proposed loan move is currently off the table, they could yet return to talks if the structure of a deal can be changed to satisfy Bayern’s preference for a permanent transfer.

READ MORE: Newcastle: Man Utd allow Magpies to complete £65m signing approved by Jaissle

Newcastle try to salvage summer window

Incidentally, this summer has been a disastrous one for Newcastle. In addition to selling star winger Anthony Gordon and midfield engine Tonali, captain Bruno Guimaraes joined Arsenal earlier in August.

That was soon followed by Eddie Howe departing the club, leading to the swift capture of Matthias Jaissle from Al-Ahli. Newcastle need to use these transfer proceeds on quality replacements but so far that has, arguably, not been the case.

Newcastle had shown an interest in Palhinha before Villa entered the picture but switched their focus to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, only for the former Tottenham midfielder and Marseille star to reject the chance to move to St James’ Park.

The Magpies have invested heavily in younger players during the summer but remain keen to add experience to their midfield, and Palhinha fits that requirement.

His ball-winning ability and Premier League experience make him an attractive option for Jaissle, while Newcastle also know what the Portuguese can bring from his previous spell at Fulham.

Palhinha is now weighing up his options and a return to England does appeal to him, but there is also interest from his former Fulham boss Marco Silva, now in charge of Benfica. Silva would be keen to reunite with the midfielder in Portugal, meaning Newcastle are not alone in the race.

For now, though, the rejection of Villa’s loan proposal has given the Magpies another opportunity to pursue a player they had already considered earlier in the summer.

Newcastle are now assessing whether they can make a permanent deal work, while Villa could yet re-enter the picture if they can find a structure acceptable to Bayern.

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