Chelsea confirm £60m January sale as Conte handed huge transfer war chest

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Chelsea have confirmed that Oscar will complete his move to Shanghai SIPG in January, with the deal reportedly worth around £60m.

As per a statement on the club’s official website, the 25-year-old will move to the Chinese Super League outfit at the beginning of the January transfer window.

Oscar joined Chelsea in 2012 and has gone on to play an important role in helping the club win another Premier League title, a League Cup and the Europa League as well as scoring 38 goals in 203 appearances.

However, the club have opted to take the opportunity to receive £60m for his services, as reported by ESPN FC, making the Brazilian international their club record sale having now surpassed the £50m received for David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain in 2014.

It marks another exceptional piece of business from the Blues, as ultimately Oscar wasn’t able to fit into Antonio Conte’s plans and his 3-4-3 system, with others ahead of him in the pecking order and helping lift the club to a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

In turn, essentially Chelsea have offloaded a player surplus to requirements for a healthy £60m fee, and it is more than likely that they will put that back into the coffers as transfer funds for Conte to strengthen his squad further in January and ensure that his team are able to sustain their impressive start.

As for Oscar, the move will give him a chance to work with former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas and compatriots Hulk and Elkeson.

Many will likely criticise the 25-year-old for ultimately selling out and following the money in China, but it’s difficult to question him given the lucrative deal that is likely to be on the table with ESPN FC adding that he is likely to receive a substantial increase on his £90,000-a-week wages at Chelsea.

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