The absence of quality offensive midfielders in the European market forces to open up to other markets in case Verratti fails.
EDITORIAL
The operation to sign Marco Verratti is too fragile to risk it all on one card, so Barcelona has already found a possible alternative in José Paulo Bezerra, known as Paulinho in the football world. He is a Brazilian attacking midfielder close to turning 29 who has been playing in China since his failure at Tottenham Hotspur under André Villas Boas between 2013 and 2015. However, at Guangzhou Evergrande, he has recovered his best version and, under the guidance of Felipe Scolari, has returned to the Brazilian national team, which, with Tite on the bench, has recovered its beautiful style of play, something that Barcelona aims to take advantage of.
In fact, those who know him point out that although he is not a player known for his technique, he has a notable offensive ability and a gift for what is known as the 'surprise factor', the ability to appear out of nowhere to finish an attacking action. Furthermore, he has played in leagues as exotic as the Lithuanian and Polish leagues, where he grew up before returning to Brazil and becoming one of the key players in the Corinthians team that won the historic double in 2012. From there, he moved to Tottenham but Villas Boas, his backer, did not last long and then Mauricio Pochettino would use him - sparingly - as a winger, a position unfamiliar to him and that destroyed his confidence.
He did not recover it until Scolari pointed to him as his top priority when he took over the reins of the Chinese Guangzhou team. He has even made a comeback to the Brazilian national team. However, it is not at all clear that a player accustomed to playing with complete freedom of movement in China will fit into a Barcelona team where he will never act as a finisher as he likes, since this task is the exclusive domain of the MSN and it is worth remembering that if the incorporation of Verratti or any other superstar who arrives is intended to be a starter, as the club wants, it requires strong commitment and investing a lot of money. Settling for second best has never led Barcelona to a good digestion, a club that says one thing and does the exact opposite.