Paulinho leaves Tottenham: Former Spurs midfielder agrees £9.8m transfer to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande

26-year-old Brazilian midfielder leaves after two years at White Hart Lane

(GETTY IMAGES)

Brazil midfielder Paulinho has left Tottenham in order to join up with his former national team manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and agree to join Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande.

The 26-year-old fell out of favour last season as manager Mauricio Pochettino elected to give youth a chance in the form of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb. Having signed Paulinho in 2013 for a fee that could rise to £17m depending on add-ons, Spurs have recovered just £9.8m as part of the deal.

The Premier League club were hopeful that they could negotiate a move in the region of £15m, but the allure of linking up with Scolari persuaded Paulinho to head to China rather than open discussions with the likes of Watford, who were reported to have been showing interest in the former Corinthians midfielder, but the Chinese club confirmed the capture of Paulinho om Monday afternoon.

Paulinho scored twice in 30 appearances last season, although neither goal came in the Premier League and he made just three starts in the top flight, with most of his football coming in the Europa League and Capital One Cup.

Guangzhou Evergrande confirmed their signing of Paulinho (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Another former Premier League player who could join him in China is ex-Chelsea striker Demba Ba, who is said to be close on securing a move to Shanghai Shenhua.