Chinese Super League club Tianjin will make a massive bid for Chelsea superstar Diego Costa according to reports.
The Sun claim that, as per their sources, Tianjin have already had an offer of £50 million rejected by Chelsea last month. They state, however, that Tianjin have been undeterred by Chelsea’s refusal to sell Costa and that they will return with a bid of £80m to try and tempt Chelsea to sell.
The Chinese club are reportedly willing to pay Costa a mind-bending £480,000 a week in a bid to convince the striker to push for a move and join their side. Tianjin – managed by Italy 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro – have seemingly endless funds and are more than capable of meeting even the most exorbitant of transfer fees and wage demands.
Tianjin have just been promoted to the Chinese Super League’s top tier and are powered by a multi-billionaire owner in Shu Yuhui, who is apparently willing to spend whatever it takes to establish dominance.
Should Tianjin be successful with a bid of £80m, the transfer would be the third joint highest in world football, equalling the £80m deal that brought Ronaldo to Real Madrid from Manchester United. Chelsea have already sold one player to a Chinese club, after Oscar completed a £50m move to Shanghai SIPG. The situation with Diego Costa is obviously very different, however.
While Oscar was deemed surplus to requirements by Antonio Conte Diego Costa has been one of the main contributors to Chelsea’s brilliant form in the league this season.Costa has scored 14 goals and picked up 5 assists in just 18 games in the league, and if Chelsea go on to win the league there will be no doubt he will be a front runner for all the individual awards.
Chelsea will almost definitely reject any bid for Costa no matter how big and, given Costa’s ultra-competitive nature, he will likely want to continue playing at the highest level as well. The only sticking point is Costa’s age. At 28, both Chelsea and Costa could look to cash in on the offer and earn as much as they can before his playing days at the highest level are over.
Still, this looks like a deal that seems highly unlikely and it would definitely be a huge shock if Chelsea were to sell him.