Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Joao Palhinha may not be straightforward this summer despite the Lilywhites’ option to buy, and one club are ready to take advantage.Even though Roberto De Zerbi has declared that he wants Palhinha to remain at Tottenham next season, reports over recent days indicate that the Italian may not get his wish.Sources suggest that Sporting Lisbon are keen to take the 30-year-old back to the club and are ready to challenge Tottenham in their transfer pursuit.In fact, some reports claim that Spurs are already looking for alternative central midfield options due to fears that they will miss out on the Bayern Munich-owned player.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramSporting Lisbon’s stance on Joao Palhinha revealed as Tottenham hesitateA new report in Record (as relayed by Sport Witness) has now claimed that Sporting are cooling their interest in Real Betis midfielder Sergi Altimira and are ready to focus their efforts on Palhinha.The feeling at the Portuguese club is that the former Fulham man is increasingly attainable, as there is still no clarity from Spurs regarding the midfielder.The belief at Sporting is that Tottenham’s negotiation process with Bayern could drag on until the World Cup, and they want to take advantage of Spurs’ uncertainty to win the race for Palhinha.The outlet adds that Sporting are prepared to wait for the 30-year-old’s decision before turning their attention to alternative midfield targets.Spurs’ option to buy Palinha comes with one complicationThe same Sport Witness article also relays information from A Bola, who explains that in order for Tottenham to activate the £25m purchase clause, Palhinha would have to agree to the transfer.The significant leverage that the player has is what is giving Sporting some hope, and there is a growing belief in Portugal that family considerations could make the Tottenham man return to his homeland.Correio da Manha also reported something similar a few days ago, suggesting that Palhinha could return to Lisbon for personal reasons.READ MORE: Tottenham enter four-horse Premier League race to sign Roma’s £40m right-back sensationThe post Tottenham will not like the sound of latest Joao Palhinha to Sporting Lisbon update appeared first on Spurs Web.