Tottenham Hotspur: Villas-Boas Faces Balancing Act with His Midfield's Egos

After playing his part in Brazil's Confederations Cup final success on Sunday, Paulinho declared what, based on recent media reports, seemed an inevitability—he would be joining Tottenham Hotspur.

SkySports.com was among several websites and newspapers quoting the Corinthians man at a press conference bidding farewell to his club of three years.

At the time of writing, Tottenham have not yet officially confirmed the signing. Barring any late developments though, this transfer looks like it is happening.

Spurs' fans will be already contemplating how Paulinho might fit into their team. Bleacher Report's Christopher Atkins explored some of those possibilities, particularly relating to the 24-year-old linking up with his compatriot, Sandro.

The arrival of Paulinho will be his new manager Andre VIllas-Boas' first move in strengthening his squad this summer.

Even with the numbers already at his disposal in midfield, the need for extra cover of a particular quality has been deemed to be a must. When Sandro and Mousa Dembele were absent last season, Spurs never looked as strong.

For those existing midfielders (especially those more likely to be deployed centrally), there will be some uncertainty right now (concern, perhaps) about their roles within the squad.

Those fears will either be allayed or confirmed in the weeks following Spurs' return to preseason.

Villas-Boas and his coaching staff will be beginning to piece together their initial ideas for how the team's midfield will shape up.

Deciding on the combinations that work best for the team's midfield is, naturally, their first priority.

Doing so will hurt some egos along the way, that is unavoidable. But Villas-Boas will have to tread carefully in keeping involved back-ups he may need to involve more later.

Even with the inevitable departure of at least one or two of his current midfielders—Tom Huddlestone has been linked with a move to Sunderland lately, the most recent report coming in the London Evening Standard—there are going to be players upset at not playing enough.

A move to a 4-3-3 formation—something which has been mooted more frequently since Villas-Boas toyed with it late last season—would theoretically add an extra space for a central midfielder.

Even then (and again, considering for one or two departures) you are looking at between six to eight players contending for three spaces. That is not even taking into account the likes of Clint Dempsey, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend—Spurs' likely go-to guys for wide and attacking midfielder positions in the current squad (Gareth Bale being the indispensable exception).

There will be similar issues in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2 too.

Sigurdsson and Lewis Holtby were two who accepted their lot last season. Albeit, it in different circumstances, they were two young players willing to do a job where needed.

Both were admirably eager to please, and performed good shifts out wide. How happy either would be to accept a similar role this season is unknown.

Nobody wants to refuse opportunities to play. Yet, here are two footballers who were essentially told their manager thought there were better options in their preferred positions.

Admittedly this could be interpreted as valuing their versatility, in comparison to a Scott Parker, who is first and foremost a central midfielder.

Yet for new recruits like Holtby and Sigurdsson, the reality of their new situation may have differed to what was initially proposed to them.

Not being first choice heading into this season—a chance that will lessen with Paulinho joining—will be harder to stomach after six months to a year between them already at White Hart Lane.

At this premature stage in the campaign, all this is little more than hypothesizing. With a long season to unfold, plenty will change.

Choosing between some genuinely talented players is a headache many managers would be happy to have.

Still, effectively handling so many disparate egos is a challenge Villas-Boas must face up to in his second year in North London. Doing so in midfield is just one aspect of a precarious balancing act that, in the high pressure world of Premier League football, is akin to juggling on a high-wire.