Joao Palhinha ‘REJECTS Newcastle and Aston Villa to seal reunion with former manager at European giant’

JOAO PALHINHA is set to join Benfica after brutally snubbing moves to Newcastle and Aston Villa, according to reports. The midfielder, 31, played a key role in Tottenham avoiding a humiliating relegation to the Championship last season. Joao Palhinha is edging towards joining Benfica Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The former Tottenham loanee has been on Newcastle and Aston Villa’s radar Credit: Getty And Palhinha wanted to stay at Spurs permanently at the end of his loan spell from Bayern Munich. But the Portuguese star has been forced to look for another exit route after a quickfire return to North London failed to materialise. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Dream Team is back, free, and there’s £100,000 up for grabs! Record report Benfica are set to win the race for Palhinha following his decision to reject fellow admirers Newcastle and Villa. The Lisbon-based giants are nearing an agreement with Bayern and there is confidence the deal will get over the line this week. The move will allow Palhinha to reunite with Marco Silva, who took over as Benfica’s chief after quitting Fulham earlier this summer. And the Bayern outcast decided the chance to feature in the Europa League is too good to turn down. Palhinha, who came through the ranks at Benfica’s arch-rivals Sporting, was previously bossed by Silva at Craven Cottage. The tough tackler’s form under his fellow countryman resulted in a £47.5million swoop being made by Bayern two years ago. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Palhinha has decided to sign for Silva again after Villa had a loan bid turned down last week. Newcastle also showed interest before it became clear St James’ Park was not his preferred destination. Bayern boss Vincent Kompany has been handing Palhinha game time in pre-season despite wanting to ship him out. The former Braga favourite was involved in the reigning Bundesliga champions’ 15-0 thrashing of eighth-tier minnows Rottach-Egern last month. Palhinha made 33 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, notching five goals along the way. He bagged the winner in Spurs’ narrow victory over Everton on the final day of the season, which sealed safety. Comment now