I always liked Paulinho. He was my favourite signing for hotspurs that year they bought many players. I think he even did well but didnt fit tottenham. Always wondered why no one went for him, but that happens, but he definitely had something special about him. I havn't watched him since then to be honest so I dont know if he got better or worse, but he has enough talent and the x factor to play for a top team like Barcelona.
Now obviously this doesnt mean I agree with such a deal, 40 million for a 29 year old is damn steep especially that hes coming from the chinese league, prices are very high surely but that doesnt mean that the price has to be this high. 25 million would have been fair I guess in this market. The good thing for you guys though is that Paulinho will be extremely motivated if he goes to Barcelona since at the very least its a world cup year, his wages are relatively acceptable, low compared to other Barca players, and hes in the group of Brazilians that are likely to maintain high level performances even at 29 + years and not just lose it like Diego Costa seems to be heading to.
However, there has to be big name signings or this signing, even if for a good player, will look really bad, problem is by paying that much money, Barcelona has given justification for Coutinho and Dembele going for a lot of money as well probably crossing the 120 million mark. If its 25 million-30 million at most I guess the deal can be swallowed, but Barcelona need to make sure they dont overpay for this.