As the summer transfer window came to an end half a month ago, the transfer winds continue to flutter. Chinese Super League giants Harbour made minor changes to their squad in August, with Championship player Lucas joining them as new blood. Lucas is not only physically impressive, but he can also play in the attacking end, and has already contributed goals, far outperforming Pinko, the main striker who joined the team in the winter. Obviously, this is the choice of manager Javier. However, the arrival of Lucas also signals the departure of a foreigner.
There was a lot of hot debate about this. Despite the fact that most fans favored Pinko, Paulinho was ultimately de-registered, which allowed Hong Kong to activate Paulinho during the AFC Champions League and the foreigners were able to rotate, which appeared to be a compromise, but Paulinho was apparently unable to accept such an arrangement. In order to maintain his competitive status, the player would also like to keep the intensity of the league matches, however, even though the summer window has closed, the dynamics about Paulinho are still inconclusive.
The 29-year-old Paulinho has shown his strength in midfield and has a rich past, having played for well-known European clubs such as Cadiz and Porto, so there is no shortage of places to go next. The suspense lasted for 15 days, and finally there was an answer. After the transfer dust settled, Paulinho said goodbye to the Chinese Super League and traveled to West Asia to join UAE powerhouse Bata, signing a two-year contract. Bata's trust in Paulinho is evident. According to insiders, in order to sign Paulinho, Bata invested 3 million euros, about 24 million yuan.
Bata's official announcement confirmed the transfer, but surprisingly, nothing has been released from the harbor so far. It is customary for the club to announce a farewell, but no statement has been made so far. The $24 million is a non-trivial amount of revenue, leading to speculation that they are making a fortune in silence. The Seaports are also the highest profiting club through international transfers in the summer window.
The departure of Paulinho has certainly been a loss of a right-hand man for Oscar, leaving only Pinko, who has been mediocre, for now. The pressure on manager Javier has also increased. But as long as they can win the title consistently, Javier doesn't seem to have to worry about his position.
