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Friday Kickoff: Tottenham agree transfer for Paulinho; Monaco docked points for fan violence; and more

PaulinhoBrazilCelebratingGoal1-UruguayConfederationsCup (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Tottenham have completed one of the deals of the summer, bringing over Brazilian National Team midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians in a £17 million ($26 million) transfer.

The 24-year-old scored the game-winning goal on Wednesday against Uruguay to lead Brazil to the Confederations Cup finals, and since earning a regular place in the starting lineup of the Selecao, has decided it’s time to move overseas. Since 2010, Paulinho has been at Corinthians, where he has won the Brazilian Serie A, Paulista state championship, Copa Libertadores, and Club World Cup.

Paulinho is expected to complete the deal next week after the Confederations Cup ends on Sunday. His Brazilian teammate David Luiz has already tipped the youngster to be a star in the Premier League next season.

Though he plays as a holding midfielder, Paulinho has shown a propensity to get forward as shown by the number of goals he has scored at club level, 39 in total for club and country in all competitions since his move to Corinthians.

Here are some more stories to get your Friday started:

MONACO DOCKED POINTS FOR FAN VIOLENCE

AS Monaco may have a financial advantage over nearly every other soccer club in Ligue 1, but as of now, they won’t have an advantage on points.

The newly promoted club were docked two points (three points with one suspended) by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the soccer governing body in France, as a result of fan violence towards the end of last season at a match against Le Mans.

Monaco fans lit flares, invaded the pitch, and assaulted the referee according to the release from the LFP, which also sees Monaco’s first home match of the season, on August 17 against Montpellier, will be played behind closed doors.

Home fans will have to wait until August 24 to see the likes of James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho, and Radamel Falcao play at the Stade Louis II in Ligue 1.

MAN UNITED TO MAKE SECOND BID FOR BAINES

David Moyes seems pretty set on bringing Leighton Baines with him to Old Trafford this summer.

After Everton FC rejected an original bid for the English left back, the new Manchester United boss Moyes has reportedly submitted an improved offer of upwards of £20 million ($30.5 million) which includes bonuses and other add-ons. Baines still has two seasons remaining on his contract, and it’s thought that it may even cost more than the reported £20 million to take him from Goodison Park.

The 27-year-old was named to last season’s PFA Team of the Year and is widely regarded as one of the top left backs in the world, making new Everton manager Roberto Martinez’s job that much more difficult should they sell Baines.

The move for Baines could spell the end at United for Patrice Evra, who turned 32-year-old last month. Reports out of England state that Evra has numerous interested clubs back in his home nation of France.

NEYMAR TO TAKE ON FORMER CLUB IN FIRST MATCH

Brazilian wonderkid Neymar’s first game with Barcelona will be against his former club, Santos FC.

The Spanish giants have invited Santos to play a friendly match for the Joan Gamper Trophy, set to take place on August 2. The match was part of the €57 million ($74.5 million) deal to bring Neymar to Barcelona, which includes a second friendly match as well, set for a time in the future, in Brazil.

Neymar will join his teammates on July 15 for the start pre-season training, with the club’s first friendly match set to take place on July 20 in Poland.

QUICK KICKS

Ajax manager Frank De Boer has signed a new four-year contract after winning the Eredivisie title each of the last three seasons. (REPORT)

Aleksandar Kolarov of Manchester City could follow Carlos Tevez to Juventus this summer as well. (REPORT)

Newcastle are interested in a double signing for AS St. Etienne’s Pierre-Emrick Aubemayang and Kurt Zouma, willing to spend upwards of £25 million ($38.13 million) for the pair. (REPORT)

Sevilla have turned down a €9 million ($11.75 million) bid for highly-regarded midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia. (REPORT)

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What do you make of these reports? Do you believe Paulinho can be a star for Spurs? Do you agree with the sanctions against Monaco? Should United break the bank for Baines?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. As stated above Deuce finds a way…

    Most folks agree that the talk about Bale moving on will increase..

    Obviously, Dempsey fits somewhere in their plans and perhaps the Paulinho move is positioning for the style of play they’ll employ post-Bale.

    Some may argue that Villa would be the true replacement but AVB is simply putting together his team..

    This move and any others are the result of the ‘O so close’ finish of the last campaign.

    Beat ‘Pool to the punch while improving the side

    Reply
  2. This exact situation is what Deuce signed up for when he left Fulham for a Champions League caliber side. He wanted to be challenged and that is exactly what he’s getting. AVB is a great manager and will put the best side out there for each game. The BPL is a long grueling season and theres bound to be injuries so even if he’s 3rd on the depth chart, if injuries play a factor he organically will bump up. If Deuce produces he plays, if he doesn’t he rides pine. Its as simple as that. I just hope he plays enough to stay sharp going into the WC.

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  3. Security couldn’t not control the only two fans in the Stade Louis??? Oh wait, they probably only need 1 security officer per game. I’ve never seen more than a handful of fans at Monaco matches even when they are a Champions League side. Monaco is dead during the football season. It’s a summer vacation spot.

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  4. I was thinking the same thing. But when you look at Dempsey’s career, every time you think it makes sense to count him out, he always forces his way back into the line-up. I bet this season is no different.

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    • This. Have to agree that Dempsey is resilient and finds motivation when others count him out. I don’t see Villa as a threat to Dempsey, two different styles that can function as part of a greater system at Tottenham. Looking at the BPL giants, each of their rosters are extremely deep with attacking depth, from nearly every position. Paulinho’s signing really helps strengthen their depth in a position where no one is the clear cut starter.

      Reply
  5. Who’s going to be playing in defensive mid now? why so many good players for one position? Sandro.. Mousa Dembele.. Scott Parker , now Paulinho

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      • Funny, except…look at the Gold Cup roster. Beckerman is the only D-Mid.

        Klinsi isn’t in love with D-Mids. He’s in love with pedigrees. He tries to put the best players on the pitch, usually judged by which club the are on, rather than with regard to positioning and tactics.

      • can we give it a rest already? those tactics have helped us achieve a number of never before victories and some incredibly other results as well. let it go, he’s going to be our coach for the duration.

      • Well, Klinsmann has learned from his mistakes I think. He tried the 3 d-mid/3 forward thing more than once and it failed miserably every time. Ever since he stopped doing that, the results have been better.

    • Parker will be sold and they will move dembele up to CAM, you forget he started out as a forward at Fulham. The beauty of it is that all three (dembele, sandro, and paulinho) will be interchangeable. I can’t wait!!! COYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Reply
    • scott parker has not been good enough for spurs’ champions league aspirations, although he’s nice depth, i guess. dembele’s not a d-mid. he’s an attacker who’s been forced into playing box-to-box (and has done well). and i’m not sure, but i think sandro may have had trouble with injuries.

      if avb goes with two defensive mids, he could do a lot worse than sandro and paulinho (@ssuming paulinho looks half as good in the epl as he does for corinthians and brasil).

      Reply
      • yes, Parker never looked great after he returned from injury. I hope he moves on and that Sandro is recovered. Will be interesting to see what happens to the midfield.

  6. There are also reports that Tottenham are pursuing David Villa (who is said to be close to signing) and Shakhtar’s attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

    If those signings go through, I really don’t see a place for Dempsey in the squad. Maybe an occasional sub appearance.

    Reply
    • I’m not worried about Dempsey. Villa is more of a challenge for the Defoe Adebayor spot. Why would we assume this guy from shaktar is going to automatically unseat him. Even if he does Dempsey will start knocking in winners against Man U or Chelsea and manage to stay on the pitch.

      Reply
      • The guy from Shakhtar is already a star, with Liverpool, PSG, Borussia all interested, and with a price tag much higher than Dempsey could ever command.

    • Yeah, I’ve read the same reports. Deuce’s versatility can certainly make him a super sub type of player, but it’s going to be a constant fight for pt. Spurs have an embarrassment of riches at this point. Dembele, Holtby, Paulinho, Sandro, Walker all top flight talents at CM. Adebayor, Defoe, Villa all past their prime strikers. Have to figure he has a batter shot up front unless AVB decides to play a lone striker which would make sense given his glut of CMs. Unless Bale transfers of course. Dempsey would be the clear favorite to replace him on the wing.

      Reply
    • Yeah, I’ve read the same reports. Deuce’s versatility can certainly make him a super sub type of player, but it’s going to be a constant fight for pt. Spurs have an embarra$$ment of riches at this point. Dembele, Holtby, Paulinho, Sandro, Walker all top flight talents at CM. Adebayor, Defoe, Villa all past their prime strikers. Have to figure he has a batter shot up front unless AVB decides to play a lone striker which would make sense given his glut of CMs. Unless Bale transfers of course. Dempsey would be the clear favorite to replace him on the wing.

      Reply
      • True. If Bale goes this would be a big boost to Clint and might make him a steady starter. If Bale stays, I would not be surprised to see Clint move this summer. As for Holtby, I think it possible that he was a flash in the pan and will fall from grace. Siggurdson, I think, is better.

      • Forgot about Sigurdsson. Man that CM position is overloaded. They’ve got to deal a couple of these guys.

      • Walker’s a FB, not a CM, so that helps your CM glut a bit. AVB seems to favor Tom Carroll a bit, though, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the mix for some playing time (assuming he doesn’t head out on loan for more extensive first team playtime).

        Harry Kane will be one to watch for up front, too. He did well on loan last year, so I’d be surprised if he wasn’t given a long look during the preseason to help with the lack of depth at striker. There’s also Coulibaly, who was targeted by Madrid and ManU among others. This might be a prime season for one of these young strikers to step forward, and that may mean horning out Dempsey in order to give them a chance–at least in the short-term.

      • Huddlestone too, who looked pretty good at the end of last season. Parker’s going to have to go, and probably Hudd too. Parker’s not good enough anymore. It will be a shame to lose Hudd’s passing though. There’s also Tom Carroll, who is looking like he’s going to be an excellent CM pretty soon, but doesn’t seem to have any way of getting playing time with Spurs now. Spurs are stacked in midfield. But they really need a striker.

      • Clint has surprised us before, and it’s obvious AVB has seen some value in him given his continued playing time despite his slow start and lack of fan support. I completely agree that he may ride the pine and need a place to go in January, but I feel like he will stay for the summer and fight for a spot and just may surprise us. Seems like you never can quite count him out, but even if spurs doesn’t work out he should still be able to land back on a mid table team somewhere and continue to perform at his high level. I just hope he gets an assigned role to work on, I think the fact that Dempsey doesn’t really have an easily defined preferred position becomes a liability on these higher level teams, at least in regards with becoming a constant starter at one position.

    • Dempsey’s future with Spurs is either going to be as a striker or off the bench. — different kind of midfielder than what AVB and Spurs fans want.

      Reply

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