Wolverhampton Wanderers have had the pleasure of welcoming an abundance of talent to the pitch of Molineux over the years, with some of their most prolific talents of the Premier League era coming through Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign.
The Portuguese manager, along with renowned player agent Jorge Mendes, welcomed a host of flourishing talent from their home nation during his era to great effect as the Old Gold secured promotion to the Premier League in 2018.
From Ruben Neves to Joao Moutinho, and Ruben Vinagre to Diogo Jota, many Portuguese talents have found sanctuary at Molineux in recent years, and some not so much.
Goncalo Guedes, Pedro Goncalves and Vitinha are some examples of elite talent not able to adapt to life in England but showcase their quality elsewhere, with not every transfer resulting in a happy ending for club and player.
Wolves have had to kiss many frogs to sieve the gold from the sand in their Portuguese revolution, with Nuno testing the fortune of trial and error during his time at the club, however there was one top talent that the current Al-Ittihad boss could have struck gold by securing.
Back in 2020, the Old Gold were in good stead to capture the signature of a current Premier League star, as prior to his move to Fulham in 2022, midfielder Joao Palhinha was linked with a low-cost move to Wolves.
Did Wolves nearly sign Joao Palhinha?
As reported by Portuguese outlet O Jogo at the time, Wolves had a potential deal put on ‘pause’ for Palhinha, as CSKA Moscow announced their interest in the midfielder that was valued by Sporting CP at €15m (£13m).
O Jogo told the story of the Midlands side’s desire to purchase the defensive player, who had just succeeded in a loan spell at SC Braga at the point of the report.
It was believed that Nuno’s side were hoping to make ‘significant sales’ in order to add additional reinforcements to the fold at Molineux, with the presented proposal of the clubs interested said to be in the region of just €10m (£9m).
O Jogo went as far as to say that a deal with the Old Gold was ‘very close’, suggesting just how narrow the distance was between Wolves sealing a deal for the now in-demand star.
How much was Joao Palhinha worth at the time?
In the summer of 2020 when Wolves were circling the midfielder, Football Transfers logged his expected transfer value at around €6.4m (£5.5m), a price lower than anticipated as the Sacavenense academy product began to solidify his status in Portugal.
Prior to the 2020/21 campaign, the Lisbon-born whiz had secured 105 Primeira Liga appearances, with the majority of his experience coming from his consecutive loan spells at Braga.
With the likes of Neves and Moutinho already in his ranks, Nuno was more aware than most of the calibre of player he could lure from his homeland, making his missing out on Palhinha even more agonising with reference to how things have turned out for the 28-year-old.
What happened to Joao Palhinha?
At the point of his return to Sporting CP following his second spell with Braga, the Lions recognised the talent they had on their hands, and Palhinha became a firm member of the squad in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns.
It wasn’t long before the Portuguese controller secured his move to the Premier League, but to Wolves’ disappointment, it was to a more southern destination, as he penned a five-year deal with Fulham worth £20m last summer.
Following his arrival, journalist Pedro Sepulveda informed Sky Sports of the calibre of player that the Cottagers had obtained, describing him as one of Sporting’s “main players” during their title-winning campaign of 2020/21.
It didn’t take long for Marco Silva to realise just how fundamental spending £20m on Palhinha was, as the midfielder took centre stage in the Premier League and revealed himself as one of the best-performing talents in his position in England’s top flight.
Lauded as a “defensive monster” by analyst Marcus Bring, the 28-year-old ranked as the best player among Europe’s top five leagues over the past year with reference to his rate of tackles per 90, averaging a massive 4.23 per 90 for Fulham, via FBref.
In the Premier League last season, no player won more tackles per 90 than the former Wolves target, as he won an average of 2.40 per 90 to reinforce just how much of a presence he had asserted himself as at Craven Cottage.
How much is Joao Palhinha worth now?
Based on his consistent level of performance in the middle of the park, the Fulham hero was dubbed “the best” central midfielder that teammate Tom Cairney had “ever seen”, rightful praise for a player that made such an impact in his first taste of Premier League action.
At the start of his journey with the Cottagers just last summer, Football Transfers valued Palhinha at just €11.4m (£9.8m), a figure similar to the supposed offer that Wolves had put on the table for the midfielder two years prior.
This summer, it became clear that in signing the towering asser, Silva had uncovered a gold mine, as interest came swarming in from elsewhere, forcing the Cottagers to slap an eye-watering £90m price tag on their star player.
On deadline day, everything looked set for the west London side to bid farewell to their hero after just one season, as Bayern Munich were reported to have agreed a fee in the region of £58m to sign him.
In the dying embers, the deal collapsed as the German champions ran out of time to secure his signature, leaving the Portuguese gem feeling dejected as he travelled back to England to rejoin his teammates at Craven Cottage after being denied the big move.
From an expected market value of £9.8m to sporting a price tag of ten times the amount a year later, Palhinha exceeded expectations during his first term in the Premier League, giving Wolves a feeling of what once could have been.
What could Joao Palhinha have offered to Wolves?
Aside from his innate ability to battle and orchestrate in the midfield, Nuno could have struck gold by signing the talent for just £9m back in 2020.
Taking into consideration Wolves’ financial issues of late, and the offloading of quality this summer to generate profit, having a player as valuable as Palhinha in their ranks could have avoided the crisis they’re currently in.
The signs were there that the former Sporting CP destroyer could be a top addition to Nuno’s midfield, however not many could have predicted the success he would achieve in the Premier League after playing in only Portugal for the entirety of his career prior to the move.
Now valued by Fulham at £90m with plenty of potential suitors eyeing his progression from the summer’s drama, Wolves truly missed out on one of the best by failing to sign Palhinha.