Joao Palhinha reclaims his crown from Chelsea rival despite taking 12 months off

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One unbelievable stat proves that Tottenham’s Joao Palhinha is leaps and bounds above any other Premier League player in one discipline.

When Tottenham Hotspur signed the midfielder from on-loan Bayern Munich, they knew exactly what they were getting, and the 30-year-old has not disappointed.

Palhinha completed 300 tackles in the Premier League during his two seasons at Fulham, which was an astonishing 109 more than the man in second place, Moises Caicedo.

Palhinha has once again outperformed most of his peers when it comes to tackles, interceptions and duels this season, and one particular stat encapsulates how far ahead he is of others in one particular skill.

Tottenham midfielder Joao Palhinha moves back above Chelsea star in tackles

When measured from 2022, Palhinha was far and away ahead of the rest when it came to tackles until the time he swapped Fulham for Bayern Munich.

However, in the season that the midfielder spent at the Allianz Arena, Caicedo moved back above him again. But astonishingly, it has taken the Portuguese star just a few months to take his crown back.

Here is the list of players with the most tackles in the Premier League since Palhinha’s debut in the competition, according to Tottenham’s official website:

Joao Palhinha (Fulham and Spurs) – 349
Moises Caicedo (Brighton & Chelsea) – 339
Idrissa Gueye (Everton) – 325
Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace) – 307
Joao Gomes (Wolves) – 300

The fact that the Tottenham man has played one less season than everyone else in that list, barring Joao Gomes, shows just how much better he is than the others at winning the ball back.

Palhinha has come under criticism for one shortcoming at Spurs

Despite what the Portugal international is offering off the ball, he has come under criticism for his ability on it.

Just recently, Jamie Carrahger identified Palhinha’s inability to play line-breaking passes as Thomas Frank’s biggest problem, suggesting that it was the main reason why other big clubs were not in for the 30-year-old.

However, Frank has continued to sing the praises of Palhinha, and the Dane does not appear likely to leave the midfielder out of his starting eleven anytime soon.