Liverpool: Shakhtar Donetsk confirm €50m sale of Alex Teixeira to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning

Shakhtar Donetsk have accepted a £38.4m (€50m, $55.9m) offer for Liverpool target Alex Teixeira from Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning. Teixeira, 26, was the subject of a £24.5m offer from the Merseyside club during the January transfer window and was desperate to seal a "dream" move to the Premier League.

Shakhtar held firm in their valuation for the player, however, and insisted they did not intend to let him go until the end of the season. Liverpool were reportedly ready to wait until the summer transfer window to get their man but now look likely to miss out on the Brazilian altogether, with Teixeira now poised to become the latest high-profile player to join Chinese football.

Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu has confirmed to ESPN Brasil a bid for the attacking midfielder, who has struck 22 league goals in 15 games this season, has been agreed. The clubs however are holding off on an official announcement until all the paperwork has been completed, in order to avoid a situation where Luiz Adriano's move from Milan to the same club broke down despite a fee being agreed in January.

"We have agreed the sale of Alex Teixeria to China," Lucescu said. "But we will wait a bit to finalise it due to the situation with Luiz Adriano. But it is all sorted on our side."

The Ukrainian club have since confirmed the player's imminent departure via their official website.

Jiangsu Suning, who signed Chelsea midfielder Ramires for £28m during the January transfer window, have led Chinese football's powerful attempts to sign high-profile players from the European game. According to the Daily Telegraph, the club have also tried to sign another Brazilian in Chelsea midfielder Oscar for an eye-watering £75m.

The report claims Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has rejected the staggering offer, but adds the Chinese club are likely to return with another bid at the end of the season.

China's position as one of world football's most powerful emerging forces was underlined inJanuary. Guangzhou Evergrande have signed Colombia international Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid for a fee of £31m, an Asian transfer record until Teixeira's move is confirmed.

Former Arsenal forward Gervinho, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho and ex-Premier League strikers Demba Ba and Asamoah Gyan are among the other familiar faces to make lucrative moves to the Far East in the last six months.