Fans asked to pick the Premier League signing of the summer after the transfer window slammed shut on September 1 last year probably would have gone through a multitude of names before settling on Joao Palhinha.
Manchester City snapped up Norwegian striking demi-god Erling Haaland, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Raheem Sterling left City for Arsenal and Chelsea respectively, forwards Darwin Nunez and Richarlison made big-money moves to Liverpool and Tottenham, and Manchester United splashed out £70m on Casemiro.
It might be a surprise, then, that a 27-year-old defensive midfielder at a promoted side is drawing the plaudits and in genuine contention to be considered signing of the season.
But the £17.2million arrival has spearheaded the Cottagers’ unlikely European push, impressing with his league-leading tackle count, dominating physical presence and penchant for spectacular goals.
Below, Sportsmail looks at Palhinha’s surprising impact and how the Portuguese has gone from strength to strength in west London under manager Marco Silva.
Fulham defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha (above) has been one of the signings of the season
The 27-year-old joined Fulham for £17.2million from Sporting Lisbon back in July
Impressing in Portugal
Born in Portugal’s capital Lisbon, Palhinha was a relatively late bloomer, only joining Sporting Lisbon at the age of 17, playing twice for the reserve side the following season.
He then spent four campaigns on loan at Moreirense, Belenenses and then Braga (twice) in the top-flight Primeira Liga, before only becoming a fully fledged member of the Sporting senior side in 2020-21, at 25 years old.
That summer had begun with Palhinha training on his own amid negotiations over a move to CSKA Moscow and Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, but he was brought back into the fold and played 32 times as Ruben Amorim’s men won the league title.
After another fine season with the Green-and-whites which saw him break into the Portuguese national side too, several Premier League clubs expressed an interest and a move to England was on.
Powerhouse Palhinha only really broke through into the Sporting first team at the age of 25
He won the Primeira Liga championship with the Lisbon-based side in the 2020-21 season
A tackling machine
An almost perennial yo-yo club between the top two divisions in England, Fulham had been badly scarred by summers of wild overinvestment quickly followed by relegations.
What they…