Tianjin Quanjian reach agreement with striker, club but refuse to reveal if that’s Diego Costa and Chelsea

If Tianjin Quanjian are bluffing and end up signing a Kalinic or another Pato, it will have been a very foolish bluff to make. If on the other hand they are not bluffing, and they have in fact reached an agreement with a world class striker, then they’re just being annoying.

“Basically, a decision on which player we are going to buy in the summer has been made. And we have secured a verbal agreement with the player as well as his club.”

"We have not signed a formal contract yet, and I will not reveal the player's name during the sensitive period. The club have once got the short end of the stick after our transfer target was exposed ahead of time. So we won't say his name."

-Shu Yuhui; source: Goal

Tianjin have been most heavily linked with Diego Costa and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, both of whom would represent a serious statement of intent on their part to joint the footballing elite in China. They are currently languishing in mid-table in the Chinese Super League with just 9 goals scored in 9 matches.

Still, despite the six months of steady rumors, should either of these deals actually come to fruition, it would be a shocking development. Costa himself recently cast a bit of doubt on his assumed exit from Chelsea this summer, so who knows what may be happening now, if anything.

Stay tuned...