Chinese club to end Costa pursuit

The owner of Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian has intimated that he is ready to give up on signing Diego Costa.

The Chelsea striker is understood to have been the subject of a big-money offer from the Chinese club, which would see the Spain international earn in excess of £570,000-a-week.

Tianjin Quanjian owner Shu Yuhui has revealed he spoke to Costa's representative Jorge Mendes over a possible deal, but Chelsea's reluctance to sell the striker means the club would have to wait until the summer to make a move for the player.

With the Blues unwilling to part company with Costa, Shu has shelved plans to sign the striker.

"I made an appointment with Mendes and he came to my hometown to visit me. At that time, we were interested in signing Costa," he told Tianjin Sports Channel.

"PSG told us [Edinson] Cavani would only be allowed to leave in June, even though the player himself was willing to join us.

"The same can be said for Costa because Chelsea would only let him leave in June. However, the new season of CSL will almost reach the halfway stage in June, we can't wait so long."

A change to CSL rules means clubs will only be allowed to name three foreign players in their starting line-ups.

"Our club had a massive investment plan for the new season but it was tightened up by the new rules," Shu said.

"We need an out-and-out striker so we made a bid for Benzema. We also made an attempt for Falcao.

"As a matter of fact, the club had even prepared the contracts for Falcao and [Benfica striker] Raul Jimenez. We had already reached agreement with them on wages and bonus. The pair were expected to sign the contracts, but the new rules forced us to give up on them."

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