Bayern

Aston Villa are in talks over a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha.

The Portugal international, 31, became a target for Villa after Amadou Onana suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee while playing for Belgium at the World Cup.

Sources close to Palhinha say he has yet to make a decision but is open to a move to Villa Park, which is regarded as among his best options.

Bayern are willing to let him leave two years after signing him for £47.4m from Fulham.

Palhinha was on loan at Tottenham last season but the north London club opted against triggering their £26m option to buy.

It is understood manager Roberto de Zerbi was keen to sign Palhinha because of his role in helping Spurs avoid relegation, but the club were unable to reach an agreement with Bayern.

“Joao Palhinha is a very good player who would fit our plans,” Villa director of football Damian Vidagany told German outlet Bild on Friday.

“We are in talks, but there is currently no agreement. If something were to happen, it would always be based on the great respect we have for Bayern.”

The comments after Villa lost 2-1 to Bayern in a pre-season friendly, in which Palhinha featured as a substitute, in Hong Kong over the weekend.

It has been a busy summer for Unai Emery’s Europa League-winning side, with the high-profile departures of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, Youri Tielemans to Manchester United and Lucas Digne to Paris St-Germain leaving Villa in need of replacements.

They have also signed Alejandro Garnacho from Chelsea, Joao Gomes from Wolves, Johan Manzambi from Freiburg and Moudou Keba Cisse from LASK Linz.

Injured captain Alphonso Davies is expected to miss co-hosts Canada’s opening World Cup game, but head coach Jesse Marsch believes the full-back will still play a part in the tournament.

Davies, 25, suffered a hamstring injury in Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris St-Germain on 6 May, with the German club saying at the time he was expected to be out of action “for several weeks”.

He only made 13 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern during a campaign heavily disrupted by injuries.

Canada will open their home World Cup campaign against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto on 12 June before meeting Qatar and Switzerland on 18 and 24 June in Vancouver.

“I think Alphonso will play in the World Cup,” Marsch told reporters in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Canada will train this week before their 26-man World Cup squad is announced on Friday.

“I don’t think he’ll be ready quite on June 12… but we’ll see.”

Davies was among 32 players invited to the camp, but Marsch said the Canada skipper would only join the team on the eve of their friendly against Uzbekistan in Edmonton on 1 June.

They will also face the Republic of Ireland in Montreal on 5 June in another World Cup preparation game.

Davies last played for Canada against the United States in March last year, when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

He missed the March 2026 friendlies against Iceland and Tunisia because of a hamstring strain.

The former Vancouver Whitecaps left-back was part of Canada’s World Cup squad in 2022 and scored in a 4-1 defeat by eventual semi-finalists Croatia in the group stage.