Defensive midfielders have been all the rage at Craven Cottage in recent seasons. During the club’s previous Premier League campaign, which ended in a miserable relegation, it was the team’s ever-reliable “motorino inesauribile” (inexhaustible scooter), Harrison Reed, who stood out. Last year, as Marco Silva’s swashbuckling side stormed to the Championship title, it was Jean Michael Seri who was regularly serenaded from the terraces.
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This year has been no different.
When Seri departed last summer following the expiry of his contract, a big hole emerged in the Fulham midfield. His No 6 position was integral to how Silva likes his teams to play: he resolutely sticks to a 4-3-3 system, with one defensive midfielder and two more dynamic No 8s, one of them operating like a No 10 and the other more box-to-box. Seri was the conductor in chief. Reed would fill in from time to time, but he had a new role and transformed into a more rounded midfield operator.
But after promotion, Silva planned to change things. He realised that to help Fulham step up to the top tier, they would have to evolve from a dominant and free-scoring Championship team into a more rugged and pesky — but still attractive — Premier League outfit.
So out went Seri, the master playmaker, and in came Joao Palhinha, the master destroyer.
He has been a revelation.
Palhinha signed from Sporting Lisbon for a fee thought to be worth €20million (£17.4m; $21.6m). There had been interest from Wolves, who were mulling over the possible departure of star man Ruben Neves but, in the end, Fulham were given a free run at the Portuguese international. It seemed a little surprising. This was a player who had caught the eye at Euro 2020 and, while his last season at Sporting was not as noteworthy as his previous campaign, he remained an attractive asset. Not least for Premier League teams, considering his unique skill set.
The 27-year-old was the first new face through the door at Fulham and he would become the team’s most important. He epitomised Fulham’s top-flight evolution. The club became harder to beat, despite only light alterations to their Championship defence. Bernd Leno arrived in goal, a phenomenally cheap addition at £3million up front, while Issa Diop arrived from West Ham to compete with Tosin Adarabioyo and Tim Ream at centre-half. But the core of the back line was the same as the one which secured Championship promotion last year. The key difference was Palhinha in front of them.
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Palhinha made his mark immediately against Liverpool on the opening day. He was flying into tackles, setting the tone for the combative approach Fulham would take against every team. His technique in the tackle is pinpoint accurate — “the best tackler I’ve ever seen,” as Kenny Tete put it to The Athletic earlier this year — and he thrived in a more intense and physical league. His numbers racked up quickly and, at the time of writing, no player has won more duels in the Premier League than he has (280), while he has registered 145 tackles, too. That is an astonishing number, not least as the next highest is Moises Caicedo of Brighton. He has made 99.
João Palhinha being João Palhinha. pic.twitter.com/UntXrNvjdX
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) May 11, 2023
Palhinha has been the backbone of a Fulham team that has gone on to confound all expectations. Most assumed they would plummet straight back to the second tier, but from the word go they have shown themselves to be more than competitive. They will finish 10th in the table, a fantastic achievement, and they are currently 21 points clear of the relegation zone. With a shock win at Old Trafford, they could even eclipse their best-ever Premier League points tally.
Fulham’s success this year means there were many candidates for player of the season. Leno is chief among them — no goalkeeper has a higher ‘prevented goals’ number than he has (10.8), according to Opta. Prevented goals refers to the number of goals a goalkeeper would expect to concede based on the quality of the shots on target they have faced, compared with the actual number of goals the team conceded. Leno has been a difference-maker.
So has Ream, a player written off for his Premier League credentials after the previous relegation but who has gone on to play 79 consecutive league games under Silva before breaking his arm against Manchester City. He is integral to Fulham’s patterns of play, a ball-playing defender who can read the game astutely. There are other contenders, too. Willian, at 34, has rolled back the years while Andreas Pereira’s set plays have elevated the team again. Kenny Tete, the conqueror of Stamford Bridge, has shown himself to be one of the best one-on-one defenders in the Premier League. Aleksandar Mitrovic has not even been mentioned yet.
But Palhinha edges them for his transformational impact. Without him in the team, Fulham just have not been as effective. His love of a tackle means he racks up the yellow cards (he has 13) and he has missed three matches through suspension. Fulham lost all three and conceded 10 goals.
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His commitment to the cause has quickly made him a fan favourite, too. He played through the opening matches of the season with a broken wrist and ahead of the World Cup there was no change to his game. Against Manchester United, the final match before the break, he registered nine tackles. His impact in the final third has helped his popularity as well, with some passionate celebrations. He scored against Brentford in the 3-2 home win in August and then celebrated Mitrovic’s stoppage-time winner by slamming the hoardings in front of the Hammersmith End.
This is your sign to attack Monday morning the same way João Palhinha attacks advertising boards. 💪#MondayMotivation | #FFC pic.twitter.com/jrkP53NO9r
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) August 22, 2022
A month later, he scored a sublime strike from the edge of the box to help see off Nottingham Forest and celebrated by pounding his chest, jumping over the hoardings and into the away end. Against Leeds United, in the FA Cup, he scored Fulham’s goal of the season.
Most Fulham fans have been scratching their heads as to how a player of his calibre escaped the sights of the top six and landed in their plush corner of west London. He has made it his home, though, and a five-year contract (with a further one-year option) should offer some reassurance should bigger clubs come calling.
If there are suitors this summer, it won’t be a surprise. Palhinha was purpose-built for the Premier League and it’s hard to find a player who has made as big of an impact on a team as he has. That’s why he’s Fulham’s player of the year.
(Top image: designed by Samuel Richardson; photo: Gareth Copley via Getty Images)
