PANAJI
Erling Haaland's monstrous start in England with Manchester City has set the Premier League by storm and while the Norwegian grabs all headlines and has been touted to be the signing of the season, his 18-goal tally has cast a tall shadow on another PL debutant's impressive displays for Fulham.
Joao Palhinha joined Fulham from Sporting Clube de Portugal for £20 million this summer and has been an important piece in Marco Silva's squad. The Premier League is known for its physicality and while Palhinha may be a little skinny in appearance, the 27-year-old can be quite ruthless in breaking down attacks.
The rugged Portuguese put on a defensive masterclass against Manchester United who beat Fulham in the final fixture of the Premier League before the World Cup commenced. Palhinha was instrumental in dousing several attacking threats that the Red Devils posed throughout the game making nine tackles, the most of any player in a Premier League game this season.
Earlier in September, legendary Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand in his podcast while discussing the signings of the season, heaped praise on the midfielder saying, "He's a very good player, he's efficient, he knows the game, takes out great positions. He's one of those that makes other players and his team perform better. For a centre-back, you'd be very happy with him in front."
Palhinha, who made his debut for Portugal in 2021, has steadily made inroads into the national team. In midfield, Portugal is blessed with an abundance of technically gifted players such as Matheus Nunes, Ruben Neves, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva (often plays up front) while coach Fernando Santos tends to stick with the likes of William Carvalho or Danilo Pereira in the holding midfield role, hence, breaking into the starting eleven will not be an easy task.
However, Palhinha will be a vital piece to the puzzle should Portugal go all the way to the finals and will be effective against teams that rely on pace or against teams that rely on physicality such as Uruguay in the group stage.
The midfielder has been in great form and a string of strong performances could potentially attract big clubs that overlooked him earlier in the summer as everyone will be watching the World Cup.
