Alex Teixeira latest: Liverpool miss out on Brazilian as Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning agree £38.4m deal

The Reds had two offers rejected but had planned on returning in the summer to secure the uncapped Brazilian

Liverpool and Chelsea target Alex Teixiera (Getty)

Liverpool’s primary transfer target Alex Teixeira is on the verge of a €50m (£38.4m) transfer to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, Shakhtar Donetsk have announced.

The 26-year-old spoke publically about his desire to join the Anfield outfit in January but it would now appear that Jurgen Klopp’s men have paid the price for refusing to meet the Ukrainian club’s valuation. The Reds had two offers, in the region of £24.5m and £28m, rejected but had planned on returning in the summer to secure Teixeira’s services.

The uncapped Brazilian follows countryman Ramires and former Atletico Madrid striker Jackson Martinez to Asia as the China Super League continues to flex its financial muscle. Teixeira has scored 26 goals in as many games for Shakhtar this season but will not play again until March as he and his new team-mates await the start of the domestic campaign in China.

Jiangsu, based on the east coast, are managed by former Chelsea and Southampton winger Dan Petrescu and represent the audacious new attitude being adhered to in China. Their move for Teixeira, who also attracted the interest of Chelsea, is the third occasion in ten days in which the country’s transfer record has been broken.

Ramires also joined Jiangsu for £25m last week before Martinez’s £31m switch to Guangzhou Evergrande, managed by former Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. They join former Arsenal man Gervinho, who signed for Hebei China Fortune from Roma for £13.8m, and Colombian international Fredy Guarin, who moved from Inter Milan to Shanghai Shenhua for £10m.