Scouting Report on João Palhinha & Statistical Comparison With Caicedo and Gravenberch

Article written on 18/03/2023

João Palhinha gets added to a long list of midfielders linked with Liverpool for a potential summer move. The rumour mill is working overtime to link the names of all the top midfielders with the Reds, knowing that a few of them may end up joining the club in the summer window (such is the level of midfield reshuffle the club is after).

Palhinha has had an excellent first season in the Premier League, plying his trade for Fulham. Before arriving in England, the 27-year-old was at Sporting CP. 

If we go through his playing history, the Portugal international arrived as a youth player at Sporting in January 2013, joining from the Sacavenese U19s. He had loan spells at Moreirense, Belenense and SC Braga before becoming a regular starter at his original club from the 2020/21 season onwards.

Fulham signed him for £20m last summer and have gotten great value for it so far. They might ask for triple that amount if the likes of Liverpool come hovering around for his signature in the summer.

Having gone through the overview of his background, it is time to have an in-depth look at the player in terms of his profile, attributes, numbers and more. 

João Palhinha - Player Profile

Palhinha is a defensive midfielder who has played almost all of his career in a double-pivot midfield setup in front of a back-four or a back-three. Fulham manager Marco Silva is also using him in the same setup with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

In terms of attributes, the 27-year-old is a robust player with great ball-winning skills, excellent counter-pressing and good understanding of spaces to cover in defensive transitions. On the ball, he is someone who likes to keep things simple and try simple passes to players who are better suited to making those defence-splitting or line-breaking passes.