Tottenham Hotspur have certainly had some iconic midfielders over the years, the likes of Luka Modric and Rafael van de Vaart immediately spring to mind.
Right now, Tottenham fans will hope that both Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall could one day be mentioned in such high esteem, talents who start in north London at much younger age.
Ange Postecoglou opted against recruiting a ready-made solution for his midfield this summer, preferring to put his faith in Yves Bissouma predominantly.
Bissouma even played as a single-pivot against Everton in Spurs’ dominant win, a welcome return from his disappointing actions off of the pitch.
That being said, Postecoglou does also have Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur to turn to as well, two exciting talents in their own right.
Former Tottenham and Barcelona player Paulinho announces his retirement
Although Sarr is Spurs’ most effective box-to-box option right now, that was previously a task that was manned by Brazilian midfielder Paulinho.
Paulinho signed for Tottenham back in 2013 for £17m, Andre Villas-Boas’ first summer signing at the time.
In total, Paulinho made 67 appearances for Spurs, scoring 10 times and assisting his teammates on seven occasions.
The Brazilian was always an exciting player to watch, playing under Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood and Mauricio Pochettino during his time in north London.
Paulinho eventually left Tottenham in 2015, heading to Guangzhou Evergrande during the influx of money into Chinese football at the time.
The midfielder then went on to play for Barcelona when returning to Europe, before eventually ending his career at Brazilian side Corinthians.
That being said, Paulinho has just announced his retirement from football on social media at the age of 36-years-old after an excellent career.
Paulinho says he asked to leave Tottenham after struggles
Speaking to The Players’ Tribune in 2018, Paulinho actually lifted the lid on his struggles at Tottenham off the pitch, as well as on it.
The Brazilian found London life difficult and didn’t feel as if he was the right player for Villas-Boas.
Paulinho said: “Actually, I would like to clear up something about my time at Spurs. I really cannot say a bad word about the club or the staff or the president.
“It is true that it was a very difficult period for me as a player, and there were times when I did not want to leave my apartment in London because I was so stressed about not playing.
“For a footballer, not playing is like a fish not being in the water. I felt as though I were suffocating.
“For whatever reason, I was not in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans. I didn’t fit his philosophy, I guess.
“But we never even had a disagreement. One day, I went to the club president and told him that if they got an offer close to what they paid for me, that I would like to move on. They were very professional about it.”