Paulinho 'free' to make Barcelona debut at Alaves after receiving transfer paperwork

New Barcelona signing Paulinho is expected to be available for the coming trip to Alaves with Mundo Deportivo reporting that the Brazilian has finally received the necessary paperwork to make his debut with the La Liga giants.

The 29-year-old midfielder was announced as Ernesto Valverde's fourth signing of the summer on 14 August after the Catalans agreed to trigger his €40m (£36.8m, $47.1m) release clause at Guangzhou Evergrande.

However, the former Tottenham Hotspur flop was prevented from making his debut during the weekend's 2-0 victory over Real Betis due to bureaucratic issues.

"Paulinho is not in the squad as there are still some administrative problems to resolve concerning paperwork needed from Guangzhou Evergrande despite the Club's best efforts to ensure he was available," Barcelona confirmed.

But Mundo Deportivo say that Barcelona have finally sorted out the situation and Paulinho will now be free to make his debut when the Catalans visit Alaves on Saturday.

The news is a much needed boost for Valverde with Barcelona being still locked in negotiations with Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund for the proposed signings of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.

Andres Iniesta, Rafinha Alcantara and Luis Suarez also missed the La Liga opener against Betis due to varying injury concerns.

Club captain Iniesta was also unavailable for the 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup due to a muscle injury. He has been training with the rest of his teammates since the beginning of the week and could be ready to return to action against Alaves.

However, the game is still expected to come too soon for long-term absentees Rafinha and Luis Suarez. Brazil midfielder Rafinha has been out of action since April due to a serious knee injury while Uruguay counterpart suffered a knee injury against Real Madrid which is expected to keep him on the side-lined until mid-September.

Barcelona have however confirmed that the former Liverpool star trained alone during the Thursday's [24 August] training session as the rest of the available teammates continue to prepare to face Alaves.

"Luis Suárez worked out in isolation this morning as he continues his recovery from the injury sustained in Spanish Super Cup action against Real Madrid," Barcelona confirmed on the club's official website. "The team will be training for the last time this week at 6.30pm CET on Friday."