Biggest goal in Spurs' recent history
The 30-year-old Portuguese midfielder's work rate and combative presence in Spurs' midfield shone like a beacon in some games where his colleagues often looked like they wanted to be anywhere other than on the pitch.That goal against the Toffees will be worth millions to the club, but it's what else he brought to the team that could be regarded as more important.
It's that which makes the news that the player is set to turn the North Londoners down in their attempts to tie him to a permanent deal more difficult to bear.
Reports from Portugal suggest that the player is hoping to engineer a return to his boyhood club, Sporting, for family reasons, and only a complete reversal of his mindset would allow Tottenham to re-enter the equation. That's despite him initially seeming keen to stay in North London.
Deal agreed with Bayern
Tottenham had agreed a €30m option with Palhinha's parent club, Bayern Munich, to make the deal permanent at the conclusion of the loan period; however, the nuance with this particular deal is that Palhinha himself was always going to be allowed to have the final say.
Now it appears he has made his decision, and it's one that will leave the Tottenham hierarchy and their supporters none too happy.
In total, the Portuguese made 47 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, scoring seven goals and providing two assists.
Despite being a defensive midfielder, that output was only second to Richarlison (12 goals, five assists) across the whole Tottenham squad.
Great all-round numbers
The Brazilian striker was also the only player to have contested more duels than Palhinha, his 413 slightly more than the Portuguese's 406, with both being the only players to have attempted more than 400.
Of those one-on-ones, however, Palhinha was much more purposeful, having posted a 60.84% success rate compared to Richarlison's 44.07%.
