Barca begins spending spree with Paulinho
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, August 15, 2017
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Philippe Coutinho has continued to be linked with a move to Barcelona of late. |
Barcelona has agreed a deal with Guangzhou Evergrande to sign Brazilian midfielder Paulinho for 40 million euros (US$47.19 million), the Spanish club said yesterday.
"The new Barcelona player will sign for the next four seasons (and) the player's buyout clause is set at 120 million euros," Barcelona said in a statement.
"Paulinho will undergo a club medical on Thursday (when) the signing of the contract and his official presentation will also take place."
The 29-year-old is Barcelona's first signing since it sold Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month for a world-record 222 million euros, with the Catalans still looking to make further reinforcements.
Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele have both been targeted by Barcelona as it searches for a player capable of replacing Neymar's spark on the left of the attack.
Coutinho has handed in a transfer request at Anfield. Barcelona has had two bids rejected for Coutinho and is poised to return with a third offer, according to reports in Spain.
The arrival of Coutinho's Brazil teammate Paulinho will allow Barcelona to add more muscle and energy to a midfield which struggled to keep control of games last season.
"Paulinho is a player who stands out for being a powerful midfielder at 1.82-meter tall who can get into the box and play anywhere in the middle of the park. He has plenty of experience in the game on various continents," Barcelona added.
The announcement of Barcelona's third signing of the summer transfer window after Gerard Deulofeu and Nelson Semedo came just hours after the Catalans suffered a 1-3 home defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup first leg on Sunday.
Paulinho failed to make an impact in the English Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur after joining from Corinthians and departed to Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015 for 14 million euros. While in the Chinese top flight Paulinho found his best form, scoring 25 goals in 95 games for Guangzhou, and earned a recall to the Brazilian national side.
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