Chinese club Tianjin denies reports of £76M offer to buy Chelsea's Costa
Tianjin Quanjian has dismissed reports that discussions are underway over a deal to make Chelsea forward Diego Costa the most expensive player in the Chinese Super League.
"Regarding the widespread rumour that Chelsea FC's Diego Costa is close to joining Tianjin Quanjian FC, our club want to make clear that at this point, we have not been communicating with Costa regarding the transfer," Tianjin said in a statement released shortly after a report by Matt Law of The Telegraph. Law initially reported Tianjin was confident about reaching an agreement with Chelsea this summer as it prepared to submit a bid for Costa worth £76 million.
Last week, speculation over Costa's potential move to China reignited after he was pictured with his agent, Jorge Mendes, and a representative from Tianjin in a London restaurant.
Without mentioning specific players, however, Tianjin revealed that it has identified a trio of players it will target when China's transfer window opens June 19.
"Now it appears that we will introduce a foreign world-class striker," the club told Jinwan newspaper. "We have three candidates now. It won't be long before we announce who to sign.
"Our team is working very hard on the negotiation. Tianjin fans, please trust us. Like I promised, he will be a world-class player for sure."
Costa, however, reportedly won't rush into committing his future as he holds out hope that a club in Europe, such as Paris Saint-Germain or Inter Milan, may be interested in his services.
Chelsea is likely willing to let the 28-year-old leave if it receives an offer worth £76 million, Law reports - a fee that would eclipse the £71 million Shanghai Shenhua paid Boca Juniors for Carlos Tevez in December. Costa has two years remaining on his contract.
Despite his success this term, the forward's willingness to depart Chelsea is well documented. He admitted that he attempted to engineer a move to Spain last summer in an effort to join his former club Atletico Madrid before the deal fell through.
He was at the centre of controversy in January when he and manager Antonio Conte were reportedly involved in a training ground bust-up, which led to his temporary removal from the team and increased speculation that the Spain international was set to leave before the winter transfer window closed.
Cooler heads prevailed and Costa remained with the Premier League leader.
Tianjin Quanjian owner Shu Yuhui revealed he'd been eager to sign Costa before new league regulations announced in January prevented him from signing another foreign player.
A deal for Costa would see Chelsea collect yet another massive transfer fee, bringing its total earnings from China to over £150 million following the sales of Oscar (£60 million) and Ramires (£21 million).