Time has Proven Tottenham were Wrong to Sell Bale

Paulinho

Brazilian Paulinho began his career in Lithuania, spending a year with Vilinus, before moving to Poland. After a disappointing spell with Lodz, he returned to Brazil in 2008 with the club he spent his youth career at, Pao De Acucar. It was here that he rebuilt his career and after moving to Bragantino he earned a move to Corinthians. It was here that his career really took off, as he played 86 games and scored 20 goals in a three year period. He also earned international recognition with Brazil. He was nominated for player of the tournament in the 2013 Confederations Cup, and picked up the bronze award. It was his performances in the tournament that caught the eye of many major European clubs, but Tottenham won the race for his signature, signing him for £17 million.

In his first season with Tottenham Paulinho performed well. He appeared in 37 games in all competitions, and scored eight goals, including six in the Premier League. Although Paulinho became an important player for Spurs, his performances were inconsistent. Paulinho played for Brazil at the 2014 World Cup, helping them reach the semi-finals. However, on his return to Tottenham he failed to establish himself in new manager Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, playing just 15 league games and failing to find the net in the competition. It remains to be seen if Paulinho can win Pochettino around or if the Spurs boss will try to offload the Brazilian in the summer.