Tottenham flop completes transfer departure from White Hart Lane

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Brazil international Paulinho has ended his unhappy stay at Tottenham Hotspur after completing a £9.9 million move to Guangzhou Evergrande.

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According to ESPN, the 26-year-old has signed for the Chinese side on a four-year-deal, bringing to a close his disappointing sojourn in English football.

Guangzhou opened talks with Spurs last week, according to Sky Sports, with the midfielder deemed surplus to requirements by Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino.

He arrived in 2013 and appeared destined for great things, with the Lillywhites fending off competition from several European giants for his £17 million signature [BBC].

Dubbed the ‘Brazilian Frank Lampard’, the then 24-year-old appeared to have the technical ability, the presence and the dynamism to be a major success in the Premier League, and his acquisition represented something of a coup for the North-London side [Sky Sports].

However, as with many of the players brought to the club following the sale of Gareth Bale and the subsequent windfall, Paulinho wholly failed to live up to expectations.

His maiden campaign was promising if unconvincing—he managed 30 appearances, six goals and two assists in the EPL—but he has been a peripheral figure during Pochettino’s first season in charge.

With the former Southampton coach preferring the midfield combination of Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason, and with the likes of Benjamin Stambouli, Mousa Dembele and Etienne Capoue providing competition for places, Paulinho managed only three starts in the Premier League.

In moving to China he both ends his Premier League nightmare, and reunites with his former national team coach Felipe Scolari, with both men surely hoping that the ex-Corinthians man can rediscover his previous lustre.

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