Paulinho is out of favor, but light on potential buyers

This post is part of a deadline morning series on potential Tottenham transfers.You can find all of the posts in the series right here, as well as the initial post explaining this series right here.

Last year, we paid £17m for Paulinho and didn't really blink at the price tag. He'd made Chelsea look bad at the Club World Cup, starred in the Confederations Cup and looked like a genuinely world class midfielder. A lot of us were thinking we'd beaten Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to a player they should have signed. But as it turns out, there was a very good reason Paulinho ended up on Tottenham Hotspur and not those teams.

Paulinho's poor form from last year carried over to the Brazil team, which looked like something that was totally his fault at first, but after those last two games, might not have been all his fault. It also might not have been his fault that he sucked under two bad coaches last year. But whatever the reason, Paulinho hasn't been good for a year, and Mauricio Pochettino doesn't really seem to rate him.

So we're probably willing to sell Paulinho for what we paid for him last summer. Problem is, who's buying? We've heard about Real Madrid, Chelsea and Juventus wanting him, but are any really paying up right now?

Age: 26

Likelihood he'll play if he stays: Who knows. Seemingly low.

Potential suitors: Juventus is the one we've heard, but they have no reason to buy him if they don't sell anyone. Real Madrid seems like a weird destination, but they really need about 15 midfielders.

Price if he's sold: Around the £17m we paid for him

Loan or sale?: Sale. There have been no loan rumors, but we'd probably do it for a big enough loan fee.

The verdict - Will he be an active Spurs player on September 2?: Yes, but just because he's not been actively linked to anyone. He's been left off the bench while fit multiple times.