Tianjin Quanjian owner confirms he’s still trying to bring Chelsea striker Diego Costa to Chinese Super League

Owner Shi Yuhui confirmed Tianjin Quanjian are “making efforts” to sign Chelsea striker Diego Costa during the summer transfer window as the Chinese Super League side compete with the likes of Spain’s Real Madrid and Germany’s Bayern Munich for signatures.

Tianjin, under coach Italian Fabio Cannavaro and with the likes of Brazilian Alexandre Pato and Belgian Axel Witsel in their ranks, have made modest start to the new season with two wins and two draws from their first five games leaving them seventh ahead of Friday’s meeting with Beijing Guoan.

But with Super League clubs allowed to sign players again from June 19, Tianjin have again stepped up their interest in the Spain international having been linked with a move for the 28-year-old before the start of the season when they brought in both Pato and Witsel.

“I can only tell you that we are making efforts now,” said Tianjin owner Shi said when asked by Sina if the club plan on signing Costa during the summer transfer window.

“We’ve already contacted several players; our standards are very high. In the meantime, these players show more interest in joining the clubs like Bayern and Real Madrid.”

Tianjin would need to make room in their squad for Costa, who has scored 17 goals for Premier League leaders Chelsea this season, with Brazilian duo Junior Moraes or Geuvanio the most likely to make way.

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Costa is contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2019, with the striker earning around £150,000 (HK$1.5 million)-a-week with the London club.

“We are literally grabbing players with Real Madrid and Bayern. As for who will join us, let’s wait until June,” added Shi.

“I can tell you the players we want are also the targets of these clubs, so we have to pay bigger price to beat them.”