http://www.sambafoot.com/en/news/48860_tottenham_agree_\__17m_deal_with_corinthians_for_paulinho\_-\_report.html?

Tottenham have agreed a £17 million deal to bring Corinthians star Paulinho to White Hart Lane, according to theDaily Mail.

• The 24-year-old has continually been linked with a move to the Premier League outfit, as well as Inter, Chelsea, Roma and most recently Real Madrid.

• *But it now seems that Andre Villas-Boas has won the race for Paulinho’s signature, having offered the Brazilian club enough money to meet the midfielder’s buyout clause of £17m (€20m).

• *Spurs are said to have been told earlier in the week they would have to up the ante on a bid for Paulinho, with the North London club originally hoping to pay in the region of £15m.

• The Daily Mail report that the Timão have confirmed the deal, even though Paulinho himself said had he will not make a decision until after the Confederations Cup in Brazil.

Obviously nothing is finalized until the player's signature is on the contract, but... HAPPY DANCE TIME.
I don't want to jinx it, but, could this finally be the transfer window where we get our business done before the last day??

Good news at last...

Nice signing Spurs :)

No idea who this guy is but from what ive heard and read about him he is very talented. So well done spurs. Next season will be interesting.

@Wolfie

There's many reasons for that.

1. Exposure.

Playing for Spurs in the EPL will get you more exposure than, say, playing for Lazio in Rome. With Spurs, you can face world-renowned teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, and the two Manchester clubs. What's also good is that not only do you face the world's best players in the best league, but the (lack of) language barriers helps your exposure as well. English is the international language for communication, so playing in the EPL means that English commentating will be viewed by more countries world-wide, rather than having Italian commentating translated to whatever language suits the viewers.

1. Economy

We all know that Italy doesn't have the best of economies right now. Going to a club like Inter is a slight risk, as the economic problems can cause a lot of trouble. Also, there's racial abuse as well. It may not be big, but Balotelli is a big example of how much racial abuse there really is in Italy. England DOES have a lot of racial abuse, but it is not tolerated on football pitches or towards the profession of football. Balotelli wasn't racially abused in England, but he WAS in Italy.

1. Direction

What direction is Spurs headed for right now? Up. And only up. You see, Spurs may be on equal terms with Inter Milan, but Spurs have a young roster with quite a few famous players. I'm sure that if anyone got the opportunity, they'd rather play with Bale, Lloris, Vertonghen and co. rather than Cassano, Handanovic, Cambiasso, and co.

There's also the average age of the squads. Spurs have an average starting XI age of 26, with Dempsey the oldest at 30. This shows that the squad is about to enter its prime, and with Holtby replacing Dempsey, and a new striker/winger coming in to replace Adebayor/Defoe, they can only get better.

Inter Milan on the other hand, have an average starting XI age of 29.4, which is scarily close to 30. Worse even, their captain Zanetti is on the brink of 40. So when Zanetti retires, who will continue his influence? At least AC Milan still had Pirlo and Nesta when Maldini retired. Inter just don't have the roster to attract players. Worse even, Inter don't have the money like City or PSG to go cash-happy on young prodigies. Yes, they bought Kovacic, but that's one young and promising player in so long. I doubt Kovacic will even last at Inter for too long. :/

So you see, it's pretty obvious why Spurs are more attractive than Inter. You guys need to think new, and start fresh. Best of luck with Mazzari btw. He's a great manager.

@dynastian You are right 100% very well put, and very informative. Good read.

@KingHenry

Thank you :)

@wolfie attractiveness depends on history, club's infrastructure, coach, squad, city,financial situation,league strenth....etc.
Tottenham is very attractive, why ?

• Beautiful stadium and a lot of fans.
• The club is doing well financially.
• Good squad and good coach.
• More easy for a youth talent to sign with spurs than United, cause less competitivity.
• More visibility for the player in EPL than Calcio.
  Inter should look for a plan to convince players to come, they are doing nothing.Being a big club today or yesterday does not guarantee you a bright future look at Leeds...

lol didn't see dynast post, was in the 2nd page :) he says it all

I won't pop the champagne cork until after he signs. Says he'll wait to look at it until after the Confederations Cup.

@dynast : this was your comment about Higuain, for the previous discuss about villa.
\" Nah, Higuain is better. Jovetic may be young and talented, but Higuain is about to enter his prime, and is experienced in international football and the CL. Arsenal can use an experienced and middle-aged player like Higuain a LOT in the coming years. Players like the Ox can learn a lot from Higuain\'s experience. And if he DOES move to Arsenal, I can see him scoring 20+ goals in the EPL if he is given the proper playing time.\" \"
Am i wrong if i say the same thing about villa? i can see him scoring +20 goals as well, and of course young players can benefit from his experience.
for higuain wages : 135k per week and for Villa 130k per week.
only one thing, Villa is older but cheaper....
So why folowing your opinion : \" And you don\'t know how successful Villa will be in the PL \" villa is risky buiness not Higuain ??
imo only pb is the age, he still can play 2 or 3 years at highest level, so bringing Villa by biding 10M is not a scandal, and for the wage it the same wage for Higuain.

A large difference is that at 25, Higuain's chances of learning a new league and style of player are much higher than 31-year old Villa.

I've also heard that AVB has said that Spurs are not interested in Martinez.

Great signing for spurs but who is he going to play with? Parker?

Parker was merely standing in for Sandro the 2nd half of the season. With Paulinho and Dembele, that's a scarily good DM department. Any two of them, at any given time, together with a playmaker like Holtby, or Sigurdsson, is just what we need.

@Dynastian98

BPL is the most watched league in the world, true. Best league? That's debatable.
Huge shift of Billionaires away from Serie A. Late 90's early 00's most of the best players in the world played in Italy. Zidane, Ronaldo, Nedved, Ibrahimovic.. etc
Spurs going up? They've been saying that for how long now? Next year I see them battling for 4th spot yet again.
Zanetti can play until he's 50 if he remains as fit as he is now.. It's good he stays for another year. It will make the transition much easier for Mazzari .
Moratti made a huge mistake not to build on that 2010 team. Over the last 3 years we have sold all our quality and replaced them with mediocre players. We have steadily slipped down the table as a result. Hopefully Mazarri can lure in some talent. Gambling on youth is what Arsenal does.
Of course there needs to be a balance. The whole team cannot consist of promising talent or just veterans.
A good balance is in order. We just can't cast away the generals. They set the example.

@Wolfie

Yes, but who's the best player playing in your league right now, huh? Pirlo and Buffon? They're part of a generation long gone, and Juventus is the only legitimate threat in Italy. Thiago Silva left, Ibrahimovic left, and all those players you listed have left far too long ago. It's been far too long since Italian teams have been at the top of the world. Even when Inter won the CL in 2010, there were no Italian teams capable of matching them. Heck, they beat Milan 4-0 that year.

Italian teams just aren't what they used to be. There is no Van Basten, Gullit, Baresi, Maldini, Zidane, Platini, Del Piero, Eto'o, Ibrahimovic, or any of those players in Serie A anymore. None. AC Milan may be on the rise, and Juve may be close to the top, but the other teams have work to do. And btw, Spurs as a 5th place team actually beat Inter Milan as a 2nd place team in 2010/11, and did so again this year. Don't forget that one so quickly.

Regarding 2010/2011: we beat both Milan clubs that year, in fact. :) Even without Bale, against AC Milan. Our strike force was Peter Crouch, our goalkeeper was Heurelho Gomes, our RB was Alan Hutton, and the heart of our midfield was Wilson Palacios, alongside Modric.

Hard to say we haven't gone upward since then. The trouble is, going upward in the PL is harder than in any other league in the world, especially with Manchester City's sudden rise. Imagine where we (and Liverpool and Arsenal) might be now, if not for that.

@Lodatz

Exactly. If Chelsea and City didn't have so many funds, Spurs and Arsenal would be much more competitive. La Liga is a brilliant example of that. The reason RM and FCB are the only two Spanish teams consistently posing a threat in the CL is because all the others are in debt. Nevertheless, you see teams like Malaga, Atletico, Athletic Bilbao, and Valencia give a hard time to/beat world-class teams like Dortmund, Chelsea, Manchester United, PSG, and Bayern. Imagine how good they'd be WITH decent budgets, or even the budget a team like Stoke City may have will help them jump milestones.

@Dynastian

Best players? Cavani, Balotelli, Lamela, Marquinhos, Vidal, Klose, Di Natale, Hamsik, De Sciglio, Harnanes, Pogba. etc, etc
Juve are not he only threat. Top 5 of Serie A would give top 5 of BPL a run for their money.
In the last 10 years. 3 Italian teams have won CL Vs 3 for BPL. So the leagues are pretty equal for me.
Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina all on the rise. Very strong squads!
10/11 season we had alot of instability in the club. The departure of Mourinho, the short spell off Benitez and then Leonardo after Christmas. Thats alot of stress for any team. No way would Spurs have had a chance if Mourinho stayed.

@Wolfie: The Italian league is a great league and was the best league in the past, but you have got to notice it isn't the same. And most of the teams there aren't the same team they were in the past either. Let's look at your most recent point.

#1) Best players. Now I understand that the Serie A has some of the best players in the world right now, but compare the best players in the EPL to the best in the Serie A.

-Cavani, Di Natale, Balotelli and Klose ~ RVP, Suarez, Rooney and Aguero
-Pogba, Vidal, Lamela, Hamsik, Hernanes ~ Yaya Toure, Carrick, Hazard, Mata and Oscar
-Marquinhos and De Sciglio ~ Nastasic and Rafael

#2) Yes in the last 10 years 3 Italian teams have won the CL but there is more to that.
-2 Champions League trophies for AC Milan in 2002 and 2007
-1 Champions League trophy for Inter in 2010

Everyone who follows football knows during 2002-2007 AC Milan had one of the greatest teams of the 21st century. Where are they now? AC Milan are a shadow of their past. I'll give credit to Inter because their treble winning season was phenomenal, but the same question, where are they now? A shadow of their past.

#3) While Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina are on the rise, so are Tottenham who to be honest, could probably beat Napoli and Fiorentina. Fiorentina aren't really financially stable and Napoli are going to collapse under Benitez (you wait and see). Milan as I have explained are a shadow of their past. They've got remarkable players, but what are the chances of them really making a name of themselves in 3 years? Not a big enough impact. Tottenham though, have one of the greatest players on Earth in their team, are financially stable, are bringing in talents, have a young ambitious manager and are ready to step up.

I really do hope the Serie A rise once again as it was a great league to watch filled with competition, but it's going to be a while with the economic issues around in Italy.

"No way would Spurs have had a chance if Mourinho stayed."

But he didn't, and that's pretty much the point. He's also the reason why Inter won in 2010; without him, they were exposed as being not quite as good as his genius had made out. What about, say, Porto? They would have won more if he'd stayed there, too.

Of the great players you mentioned, pretty much the only one who is worth a spot in the Top 5 of the PL is Cavani (and Balotelli, I'll grant you, but look how that turned out). Know how you can tell? Cavani is the only one any of the rich clubs are even interested in. You know as well as I do that if City, United, Chelsea, Madrid, Baca, Bayern, PSG, Monaco wanted someone from a Serie A club, that right now they'd get them, because the clubs in Italy need the money.

Instead, they're too busy swapping players between Spain, Germany and England, or raiding the excellent Porto squad (again). Italy just isn't in the picture.