Now that the transfer window has been officially open for a month now, the top six clubs in the English Premier League have been splashing the cash. I welcome you to follow along as I offer timely updates and analysis on the window as it relates to England’s top clubs and their “ins and outs”.
On the July 6, Spurs confirmed the signing of Brazilian midfielder Paulinho for a fee reported to be around £17 million. Paulinho signed a four-contract after a teary-eyed farewell to his previous club Corinthians. In three years in São Paulo he played 86 times, scoring 20 goals. The ex-Bragantino player said, “It’s a huge pleasure for my career to be at a club as big as Tottenham.”
Tottenham have splashed the cash on one of the most sought-after young box-to-box mid-fielders. The Brazilian shed many tears in his farewell press conference when leaving Corinthians. The fans love him and he adores them. He has also been capped at International level with Brazil 17 times since 2011, scoring five goals. Paulinho scored two goals in four games at the FIFA Confederations Cup earlier this year. After confirming his four-year contract with Spurs, the 6ft midfielder opened up saying, “First, I want to thank Tottenham for believing in me. I am very happy and excited to have joined Spurs. I know it will be a huge challenge but I think I can help all my colleagues to succeed and give a lot of happiness to the supporters.”
The Spurs made their second big signing when they purchased Belgian international winger Nacer Chadli from Dutch based club FC Twente for a reported £ 7 million on July 21st. He’s a big and talented winger who just loves to cut into the middle of the field to create goal scoring opportunities. The purchase of Chadli could form a dynamic duo with reigning Player Of The Year Gareth Bale, so long as Tottenham is able to continue to resist outside efforts to buy the 24-year-old that seem to be rumoured from Real Madrid, Manchester United, and others.
With centre-midfielders Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker heavily linked with moves away, the signing of Paulinho couldn’t have come at a better time. Spurs have also let eleven players leave the club. These include centre-back William Gallas and winger David Bentley, both released. The London-club also let six players go to Swansea – four on loan and two, Nathan Byrne and Jack Barthram, on free transfers.
