Cristiano Ronaldo’s powers are waning. Bruno Fernandes has been inconsistent for a few seasons now. Manchester City’s collective excellence makes sure the individual brilliance of Bernardo Silva, João Cancelo and Ruben Dias is never irreplaceable.

Therefore, is there a case for Fulham’s João Palhinha to be the best Portuguese player in the Premier League?

Fulham were one of the favourites to go straight back down, however, they find themselves in the top half of the Premier League.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has earned most of the plaudits for Fulham’s surprising performances, with his nine goals only bettered by three other players.

However, it is Fulham’s £17million man from Sporting CP, midfield destroyer Joao Palhinha, who is the biggest change from Fulham’s last two attempts at survival.

In the only game Palhinha has missed for Fulham, because of five yellow cards in the league, his replacement Nathaniel Chalobah got sent off within eight minutes, and Fulham were comfortably beaten 4-1 by Newcastle.

The Cottagers’ defensive midfielder in 2018-19 and 2020-21 has been either Calum Chambers or André-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Whilst Chambers was effective defensively, with very high interceptions and clearances, his positioning was so deep, oftentimes operating as a third centre-back, unlike Palhinha, who regularly wins the ball back in the midfield.

Anguissa, on the other hand, was great on the ball but lacked the defensive intensity needed for a team fighting relegation, which would frequently frustrate Fulham fans as he often looked dejected when off the ball.

Palhinha is the opposite, a master of tackling. He appears to enjoy chasing opposition players, patiently waiting for the opportunity to pinch the ball from their feet. After each successful tackle, Palhinha gets back up and prepares to go again. This no-nonsense approach has made him an immediate fan favourite, with his best challenges leading to standing ovations from the Fulham fans.

“Sometimes, when the fans sing my name, it’s like petrol for me,†said Palhinha after Fulham’s last fixture before the World Cup, proving the mutually beneficial relationship he shares with the fans.

Despite cruelly losing to Manchester United with the final kick of the game, Palhinha was faultless. He made nine tackles – the most in a Premier League game this season – and made serial Champions League winner Casemiro look like the lesser player on the night. The performance was so action-packed, Fulham posted a three-minute highlights video of “a João Palhinha masterclass.â€

So, how will Palhinha’s role change when he plays for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? The most important distinction is that he is largely a rotation option for William Carvalho and Rúben Neves in Fernando Santos’ plans. This is perhaps due to their progressive passing ability being more beneficial in a team that is often the favourite.

Even if his role for the national team is largely off the bench, his impact in closing out games could be very helpful. In Portugal’s unpredictable 3-2 win in their World Cup opener against Ghana, Palhinha made the joint most tackles in the game, despite only entering the field of play in the 88th minute.

There are already question marks as to why no other clubs competed with Fulham for Palhinha’s signature, who was a key player for a Sporting CP side that only conceded 43 goals during his last two seasons at the club. But with a five-year contract, Fulham won’t sell on the cheap.

So, to answer whether Palhinha is really the best Portuguese player in the Premier League, despite not being as technically gifted as the other options, his relative importance to Fulham is far greater than that of the others for their respective clubs.

Without Palhinha, Fulham would likely be far closer to the relegation zone than they are right now.