Paulinho could be Barcelona’s first signing with the £198million made from Neymar move to PSG
Former Tottenham midfield flop closing in on switch to Barca from Chinese club Evergrande as Spanish giants look to strengthen after losing Brazilian to France
BARCELONA are close to wrapping up their first signing since receiving £198million for Neymar - former Tottenham flop Paulinho.
Barca have been scouring the globe looking to strengthen their squad having seen Brazilian superstar Neymar quit the Nou Camp for Paris Saint-Germain.
Officials flew to Germany this week in an effort to thrash out a deal for Borussia Dortmund winger Ousmane Dembele.
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And they are also desperate to force through a deal for Philippe Coutinho even though Liverpool have today rejected a transfer request from the Brazilian playmaker.
But the first business they could end up doing is to seal the £25m capture of Paulinho, who currently plies his trade in the Chinese Super League with Guangzhou Evergrande.
The 29-year-old has spent the last two years playing in China having been a major disappointment during his time in the Premier League with Spurs.
Tottenham splashed out £17m to Corinthians in 2013 hoping the Brazil international would help catapult them up into title challengers on a regular basis.
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But the midfielder found it hard to cope with the demands of English football, and after two years and just 45 appearances he was shipped off to the Far East in a £10m deal.
Since then he has performed well in the easier CSL, but even he would have thought his chance to play for one of Europe's big clubs had passed him by.
Yet Barca made a shock move for Paulinho last month, with a series of offers up to £20m which Evergrande rejected.
They wanted the Spanish giants to meet the £36.4m release clause in his contract, something Barca were not prepared to do even though they wanted to increase depth in their midfield options.
But now SunSport understands an agreement is close between the two sides, and Paulinho could be announced before any deal for Dembele or Coutinho is finalised.
Barca remain confident they can complete a deal for French international Dembele despite Dortmund's reluctance to sell.
Dembele is attempting to force the issue by failing to turn up for training, for which Dortmund have hit him with a fine - but ultimately it appears the player will end up getting his wish.
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