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Paulinho -José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior

Crikey! Seems like it is going to happen:eek:

I just hope these 'leaks' are not happening to flush out other potential bidders like Real and Inter Milan. I would have been even more excited if this rumour was coming out on the day of the Confed Cup final.

How will this signing help us though? Isn't he a bit of a Frank Lampard CM-goalscoring type? Maybe like Siggy?

Isn't it a Mata/Modric/Moutinhoi type of creative player we need? How will this signing help us in those games where teams defend on the edge of their own penalty box?
Would love to hear people's thoughts on the tactical variation Paulinho might give us (or not) and whether it's just an upgrade on Siggy.
 
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Deals have been closer than this (read: Dennis f*cking Bergkamp) before collapsing at the last second. And with Paulinho, there's an even bigger chance of a certain Spanish club trying to gum up the proceedings in order to make a point about a certain Welshman.

Still, I have gone from 'meh' to excited now.

--Dembele--Paulinho---
--------Sandro--------

That is a mightily powerful midfield. A far, far cry from the days when the potential signing of Wilson Palacios had us sighing in relief at the fact that our midfield would no longer be considered weak and easily malleable when up against those 'don't like it up 'em'-type sides.

Now, you try getting the ball off Dembele, Paulinho and Sandro by force, and you're about as likely to succeed as Kim Jong Un launching a manned Mars expedition. If you by some miracle succeed, they'll just hassle and harry you with their endless reserves of stamina until you give it back. And since all of them were at one point considered 'box-to-box' midfielders, we won't have a shortage of powerful runs forward.

However, those three certainly aren't the most fleet-footed or agile players. That could be problem: we could potentially have a ludicrously powerful midfield three, but little by way of guile or creativity between the defense and the front three. So, when looked at it in that regard, it is a little sobering.

Still, introspection is for later. Get him in, Daniel! Go!
 
"Paulinho also offers a useful presence in set piece situations at both ends of the pitch."

Get him in.
 
Great post Dubai.

Although we shouldn't underestimate the creativity of Dembele and maybe Holtby playing in one of those positions. From what commentators (Tim Vickery et al) have said about Paulinho I got the impression that he's very much a player who will make things happen for us in the (where's that cliche thread?) 'final third'!
 
According to BrazilStats the Brazilian press are now claiming Paulinho has a verbal agreement to join THFC and the overall fee is agreed with Corinthians but there's some fine-tuning of the deal going on
 
Amor said:
Is he starting in the Confed Cup?
I might actually have to watch it now.
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No got injured last match (not serious) so is not playing in the next match according to Scolari. He did start against Japan & Mexico and scored against Japan.
 
While we might be known for signing Argentinians in the past, I guess we're not known as a renowned European club in Brazil - yet. Porto or a spanish destination is going to be less of a culture clash and the normal route into Europe. AVB, Sandro and now Baldini may change that perception.

It sounds like the details are agreed with his club, but we need the player to sign. This is where agent fees come in.

If we sign him - and we know too well to believe this is in the bag, it is not - then we will suddenly become a known entity in Brazil. It could lead to the Benard signing etc.
 
Amor said:
A £17m signing...How much does that leave for a striker/creative mid?
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If Paulinho is costing £17m (Burt is saying £15m, so it's probably 17m euros), he's coming in to replace all of Parker, Livermore and Huddlestone, so we could probably raise a good chunk of that by selling those 3 (with English player premiums too).

I don't think we'll sign another midfielder after that. Paulinho, Dembele, Sandro, Holtby, Siggy and Carroll is a pretty fantastic and balanced pool competing for the 3 midfield positions. What the Paulinho signing would signal to me is that Holtby is seen as more a creative midfielder (like he plays for Germany U21s) than the combatative one his cameos last season suggested to us.

I think our other two signings will be a CF (i.e. Leandro or Soldado) and a left inside forward (i.e. Bernard or Villa).
 
Gutter Boy said:
If Paulinho is costing £17m (Burt is saying £15m, so it's probably 17m euros), he's coming in to replace all of Parker, Livermore and Huddlestone, so we could probably raise a good chunk of that by selling those 3 (with English player premiums too).

I don't think we'll sign another midfielder after that. Paulinho, Dembele, Sandro, Holtby, Siggy and Carroll is a pretty fantastic and balanced pool competing for the 3 midfield positions. What the Paulinho signing would signal to me is that Holtby is seen as more a creative midfielder (like he plays for Germany U21s) than the combatative one his cameos last season suggested to us.

I think our other two signings will be a CF (i.e. Leandro or Soldado) and a left inside forward (i.e. Bernard or Villa).
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Makes sense. My only concern with that impressive midfield pool is that there is no mature player with experience. You'd look to Sandro maybe for some leadership to pull the team through difficult situations. But he's 23! It is a very young group, but a very exciting collection of talent who can only mature and develop.
 
SpurMeUp said:
Makes sense. My only concern with that impressive midfield pool is that there is no mature player with experience. You'd look to Sandro maybe for some leadership to pull the team through difficult situations. But he's 23! It is a very young group, but a very exciting collection of talent who can only mature and develop.
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I think we are maturing as a side, and as AVB installs confidence and winning mentality, the old-timers like Parker, Gallas, Friedel and Defoe can be phased out. Our model is to me going to be that of Dortmund/Ajax/Porto who have young teams built on a philosophy.

The smattering of 30-somethings is to some extent a crutch to compensate for not developing your young players to be mentally tough enough.

Our defence is now also pretty young across the board - Dawson and BAE at 29 are the elder statements.
 
Gutter Boy said:
I think we are maturing as a side, and as AVB installs confidence and winning mentality, the old-timers like Parker, Gallas, Friedel and Defoe can be phased out. Our model is to me going to be that of Dortmund/Ajax/Porto who have young teams built on a philosophy.

The smattering of 30-somethings is to some extent a crutch to compensate for not developing your young players to be mentally tough enough.

Our defence is now also pretty young across the board - Dawson and BAE at 29 are the elder statements.
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Think Sandro is 24 btw not 23 :)

Football is not an exact science. The best teams can go 1 or 2 goals down, due to something unforeseen. Skillful teams can be leading controlling a game, and a deflected shot and goal turns a game, the opposition get momentum and the game changes. It happens.

Experienced players - leaders on the pitch - can deal with those kind of scenarios better. They've seen it before. Felt the pain before. And should be able to help steady the side, man up and regain control.

For that reason, I wouldn't mind Parker staying. His wages and age will preclude that happening. But there were times last season when we were lacking, things were not going right, and Parker drove us on in the second half, determined to take the game to opposition. It changed the momentum of the game. Someone who is around 30 can do that. It is rare that 22 year olds have that kind of insight and are so assured. Dawson too brings some of that. I think Ade can also fulfill some of those responsibilities as can Sandro.
 
SpurMeUp said:
Think Sandro is 24 btw not 23 :)

Football is not an exact science. The best teams can go 1 or 2 goals down, due to something unforeseen. Skillful teams can be leading controlling a game, and a deflected shot and goal turns a game, the opposition get momentum and the game changes. It happens.

Experienced players - leaders on the pitch - can deal with those kind of scenarios better. They've seen it before. Felt the pain before. And should be able to help steady the side, man up and regain control.

For that reason, I wouldn't mind Parker staying. His wages and age will preclude that happening. But there were times last season when we were lacking, things were not going right, and Parker drove us on in the second half, determined to take the game to opposition. It changed the momentum of the game. Someone who is around 30 can do that. It is rare that 22 year olds have that kind of insight and are so assured. Dawson too brings some of that. I think Ade can also fulfill some of those responsibilities as can Sandro.
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Lloris and Verts both have leadership qualities having both captained their previous club/national sides.

Kaboul returning is now 27, so an age where he too needs to be taking on these kind of responsibilities.
 
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