Tottenham Completes the Signing of Paulinho From Corinthians For £17m.

Paulinho.
Paulinho.

Tottenham has concluded the signing of Corinthians midfielder Paulinho for a fee believed to be just under £17m.

Paulinho, 24, who scored 34 goals in 167 appearances for Corinthians, was a member of Brazil’s Confederations Cup squad, where they emerged victorious.

He revealed during the tournament hosted on home soil that a bid from Tottenham for his signature has been lodged and that the north London club was his preferred destination.

Real Madrid and Inter Milan had earlier notified their interests in Paulinho, who has also featured for Polish club LKS Lodz and Lithuanian side FC Vilnius.

“It’s a huge pleasure for my career to be at a club as big as Tottenham. 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,” Paulinho said.

He was part of the Corinthians squad that won Chelsea in the Club World Cup final in December.

He has made a total of 17 appearances for Brazil and scored five times, including goals in their 3-0 Confederations Cup win against Japan and the 2-1 semi-final victory over Uruguay.

Paulinho will be Andres Villas-Boas’ first signing of the summer.