Tottenham Hotspur captain Michael Dawson has claimed that signings such as Paulinho will improve the club's chances of Champions League qualification.

The Brazilian midfielder arrived at White Hart Lane from Corinthians last week for a fee of around £17m.

Despite failing to reach Europe's top club competition for the past two seasons, Dawson is confident that the team are moving in the right direction.

"Every player wants to be in the Champions League, we have just made a great signing and improvement is the key, bringing in players like Paulinho is only going to make the club better," Sky Sports News quotes Dawson as saying.

"With the squad we have, if we keep improving that, it is going to take us to the next level."

Spurs get their Premier League campaign underway at Crystal Palace on August 17.