Mancini after Brazilian midfielder Paulinho
Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 3:29 PM | by Peter Stickney 
Manchester City's manager Roberto Mancini is hoping to lure Paulinho to the Etihad Stadium according to the Mirror. The 24-year-old Brazillian midfielder plays for Corinthians and Mancini is hoping that they will be able to pick him up for around £12 million.
Paulinho is currently in Japan with his club as they take part in the World Club Cup after Corinthians won the Copa Libertadore, the South American version of the Champions League. Over his three seasons at Corinthians he has played 85 times in all competitions and scored 19 goals.
Paulinho, full name Jose Paulo Bezerra Maciel Junior, has played club football in Poland and Lithuania and has played eight times for Brazil, though almost exclusively in friendlies.
Paulinho's Wikipedia entry claims that he is "well known for his extreme levels of mental toughness". Not quite sure how that's appropriate to his career as a footballer, I'd hope for ball skills or physical toughness as an attribute but it'll definitely stand him in good stead for warming the bench during an early January snow-and-snore-fest in Stoke. Either that or he'll be rushed straight into action for the infamous Manchester City scrabble tournaments. Apprently Craig Bellamy is the reigning champion although he does use an enormous amount of vowel-less Welsh words and has managed to convince Joleon Lescott that Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch is Welsh for cat. Always good for a triple word score, that one.
Peter Stickney
