What the numbers say about Fulham’s new recruit Joao Palhinha

On Monday, Fulham completed the signing of Joao Palhinha from Sporting Clube de Portugal for a fee believed to be in the region of £17million.

Given both his experience in the Champions League and at international level, the arrival of the 14-cap Portugal midfielder on an initial five-year deal represents a significant coup for the Cottagers ahead of their return to the Premier League.

Palhinha had been linked with both Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers after establishing himself as one of the standout ball-winning midfielders in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, but instead he will link up with countryman Marco Silva on the banks of the River Thames.

It is his ability to win tackles and stifle opposition attacks that has seen the 26-year-old become an increasingly regular presence in Fernando Santos’ Portugal squad, and with Fulham likely to see far less of the ball in the Premier League than they did in romping to the Championship title last season, Palhinha could be just the sort of midfield enforcer they need in order to adapt to life in the top flight.

In the 2021/22 Primeira season, Palhinha on average won three tackles per 90 minutes – the fourth highest total of any player in the league.

This statistic becomes all the more impressive when considering that the Sporting team he played in averaged over 60% possession across the season, with two of the players who completed more tackles per 90 than him – Maritimo’s Vitor Costa and Tondela’s Bebeto – turning out for more reactive sides that both averaged less than 50% of possession over the season.

Palhinha’s ability to turn the ball over is not restricted to his tackling, as according to FBref, he ranks in the 99th percentile among midfielders in Europe for pressures per 90, suggesting he can play a part in a proactive, aggressive approach to defending should his new head coach Silva choose to adopt one.

The product of the Sacavenense youth academy’s impressive performances were not restricted to domestic competition last season though, as he also excelled in the Champions League as Sporting reached the knockout phase of the tournament for the first time since 2009.

Palhinha’s tackles per 90 increased to 3.6 across the five games he played in the group stage as Ruben Amorim’s side qualified from Group C at the expense of Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas.

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As well as adding a Champions League-proven ball-winner to their ranks, Fulham are also filling a considerable gap in their current squad.

It is perhaps understandable that their highest-tackling midfielder Jean Michael Seri averaged just 1.4 tackles per 90 given the Cottagers’ dominance of possession in the majority of their games last season in the Championship. However, in the 2020/21 Premier League season, when Scott Parker’s team saw less of the ball, Fulham’s top-tacklers from midfield were Mario Lemina and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa with 2.2 tackles per 90.

Not only do Palhinha’s tackling numbers in both Portugal and European competition outstrip Fulham’s previous leaders in the field, but none of Seri, Lemina or Zambo Anguissa remain at Craven Cottage following the expiration of Seri’s contract and Zambo Anguissa’s permanent move to Napoli this summer.

Given Palhinha regularly operated as part of a midfield pairing during his time at Sporting it would be of no great surprise to see him replace Seri directly and slot in alongside Harrison Reed in Fulham’s engine room, although the departure of the more adventurous Fabio Carvalho could potentially see Silva use his new arrival as the catalyst for a change in formation.

With no obvious replacement for Carvalho in the number 10 role in Silva’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, it could be the case that Palhinha is utilised as part of a more conventional midfield three alongside Reed and either Tom Cairney or Nathaniel Chalobah in order to make Fulham sturdier in the middle of the park.

Regardless of how his new club intend on using him, there can be little doubt that Palhinha arrives in West London with plenty of pedigree and with something to prove given the competition for places in Portugal’s squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Fulham supporters will doubtless be keen to wait to see their new man in action before getting too excited given how much of their Premier League recruitment in recent years has failed to hit the mark, but if the numbers are anything to go by their latest addition is more than ready to tackle English football.

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