LONDON (AP) — Tottenham has bolstered its midfield ahead of its return to the Champions League by signing Portugal international João Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy.

The defensive midfielder returns to London and the Premier League a year after leaving Fulham for a much-hyped but largely unsuccessful move to Bayern. He has three years left on his Bayern contract.

Bayern and Tottenham both confirmed the move Sunday.

Palhinha offers a similar defensive midfield option to Spurs' Rodrigo Bentancur or Yves Bissouma.

Expectations for Palhinha at Bayern were high but his time spent there had ended with the Portuguese midfielder spending most of the Club World Cup on the bench.

Palhinha was a key target for Bayern in 2023, when then-coach Thomas Tuchel wanted to shore up Bayern's midfield. Palhinha even came to Munich for a medical but Bayern's deal with Fulham collapsed at the last moment.

When Bayern finally did sign Palhinha for a reported fee of nearly 50 million euros (then $54.2 million) a year later, Vincent Kompany was the new coach.

Palhinha's season was affected by injuries or illness but, even when he was fit, Kompany often preferred youngster Aleksandar Pavlovic in the midfield instead.

Palhinha only started 10 of the 25 games he played for Bayern in all competitions and was an unused substitute in four of Bayern's five games at the Club World Cup.

It's the second time this off-season that Tottenham has signed a player who was out of favor at Bayern after making forward Mathys Tel's loan move permanent.

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