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Watford have approached Tottenham with a view to signing midfield misfit Paulinho.
The club, who achieved automatic promotion to the Premier League last month, have already signalled their intent to compete in the top flight by agreeing a club record £7million fee with Genoa for winger Diego Perotti.
Now they are hoping to secure a deal for the 26-year-old Brazil midfielder, who joined Spurs from Corinthians for £17m two summers ago.
The Pozzo family, who own Watford, are determined to back new coach Quique Sanchez Flores in the transfer market and add more experience to the squad.
Paulinho fell behind young midfield duo Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb in the pecking order at Spurs this season and ended up starting just 14 matches, of which only three were in the Premier League.
That hasn’t put off Watford from making an enquiry for his services, although a loan deal is most likely, with the club also having to meet Paulinho’s £58,000-a-week wages.
