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I have refused to say anything about the reports that broke last week because being honest, I couldn’t quite believe the speculation. Apparently, Chelsea are looking to sign Tottenham’s Paulinho for a fee of around £17m and based on what I have seen from him in North London, I cannot understand why!
Now I am sure like me, you know a Tottenham fan. I know a few and every single one of them when asked about him have responded by saying “You can have him!”. Not a good response and if anything, re-iterates my own opinion on the Brazilian midfielder.
My initial reaction when I saw the rumour was “What?” followed by “He cannot defend!” and I think most of you would agree with me as whenever we are now linked with a player, we have to consider their work rate and their willingness to get back and defend.
Jose Mourinho is looking for players who are more than happy to work without the ball at their feet and I really question if Paulinho does that?
He has quality and with the ball he has undoubted ability. Looking at him going forward if these reports are correct, he could be the long term replacement for Frank Lampard with his ability to get forward and score goals but it’s the defensive side of his game and the lack of it that concerns me.
What do you people think? Am I wrong here and am I being too harsh on the player?
