Chelsea midfielder Oscar will join Chinese side Shanghai SIPG in an astonishing £52million deal next month, according to Daily Mail.
He will become the most expensive signing by a Chinese Super League club, joining up with his former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas as clubs in the Far East continue to splash the cash.
Oscar has fallen out of favour under Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge, playing 11 matches this season but has not started in the Premier League for the leaders since mid-September.
Brazil striker Hulk became SIPG’s record signing in June, joining from Zenit St Petersburg for £47m on £320,000 a week. But Oscar will leapfrog his countryman as the club’s top earner.
The 25-year-old, having been a regular since joining Chelsea in 2012, has been a peripheral figure under Conte and hasn’t started in the league since the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool.
The club have decided to cash in, having paid £19m to sign Oscar from Brazilian club Internacional four and a half years ago, as Conte looks to revamp his defence in the next two transfer windows.
Oscar will be the latest player with Chelsea connections to play in China, following Didier Drogba, Ramires, Nicolas Anelka and Demba Ba.
He leaves Stamford Bridge having won the Premier League title, Europa League, League Cup and twice winning the club’s goal of the season award.
Given the riches on offer, the Chinese Super League is quickly becoming a serious option for Europe’s most high profile players.
Oscar joins the Chinese side at a time of financial boom for the league, with five of the 14 best-paid footballers in the world now playing in the CSL.
Graziano Pelle, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Jackson Martinez are all recent arrivals in the league, while Villas-Boas himself is also on big money, earning £11m- a-year since replacing former England boss Sven Goran-Eriksson.
Shanghai finished third in the league last season, meaning that their Asian Champions League campaign begins early in the play-off rounds in February.
They have never won the Super League, but did finish second under Eriksson in 2015.
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