Chelsea confirm huge January move with Oscar now poised to join Shanghai SIPG

Brazil midfielder Oscar will join Shanghai SIPG in a reported £60m ($74m) move in January, Chelsea have confirmed.

The 25-year-old will become latest high-profile player from one of Europe's established leagues to join the Chinese Super League, where he will become the best-paid player in the country and the third highest in the world, according to The Times.

Chelsea confirmed in a statement they have agreed terms with the Shanghai club, with the move to be formally completed when the January transfer window reopens.

Oscar's fee is set to eclipse the £50m the Premier League side received for David Luiz from Paris Saint-Germain in 2014.

The Brazilian moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2012 from Internacional and leaves having made 203 appearances for the club in all competitions, having scored 38 goals. During his four-and-half seasons at the club, he has won a Premier League title, the Europa League and the League Cup.

He will link up with former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas in China and play alongside former Zenit St Petersburg star Hulk.

Oscar was named in the starting XI in Chelsea's opening five games of the season but lost his place in the side when manager Antonio Conte began to implement his favoured 3-4-3 formation, opting for a midfield pairing of Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kante over the Brazilian.

While Conte described Oscar as "an important player", the offer from China would appear to have been just too good to turn down.

The Blues profited from the financial power of the Chinese Super League during the last January transfer window when they sold another Brazil midfielder in Ramires to Jiangsu Suning.

He will join the growing fraternity of established South American names plying their trade in the Far East, with Alex Teixeira, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Jackson Martinez and Fredy Guarin all having joined Chinese Super League clubs in the last year, with former Manchester City and Manchester United star Carlos Tevez also close to joining Shengahi Shenhua in a deal reportedly worth an eye-watering £615,000 a week.