Chelsea have sanctioned the sale of Oscar to Shanghai SIPG after the Chinese Super League club, now managed by André Villas-Boas, formalised their long-standing interest and tabled an offer worth up to £60m for the Brazil midfielder.

The Premier League leaders accepted that bid on the day they were fined £100,000 by the Football Association for the part they played in the touchline melee in stoppage time at Manchester City this month. The level of that sanction reflected the reality it was their fifth charge of failing to control their players within 19 months – City, who had two players sent off, must pay only £35,000 – but did mean Chelsea avoided a points deduction for repeated breaches of rule E20a.

The incident has, however, served as a reminder to Antonio Conte’s side that the threat of the more severe punishment is real as they seek a 10th successive Premier League win, at Sunderland, on Wednesday. They are expected to be without Oscar for that game on Wearside, with the Brazilian understood to have told his team-mates he will leave at the end of the month. The 25-year-old had started the first five Premier League games of Conte’s tenure, but has been reduced to a bit-part role since and has played 36 minutes, encompassing four substitute appearances, of the nine-match winning run.

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Villas-Boas, who endured an unhappy eight-month spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, is a long-time admirer and had first attempted to sign the attacking midfielder, then with Internacional, for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2012 only for the Brazilian to opt to move to Chelsea in a £19.5m deal. He has made 99 Premier League starts in the period since and won the Premier League, Europa League and League Cup. But, having grown frustrated on the fringes at Chelsea of late, he will now take up the lucrative new challenge in China.

Both Guangzhou Evergrande, coached by another former Chelsea manager in Luiz Felipe Scolari, and Jiangsu Suning, who made their own interest known last summer, had continued to track Oscar, but Villas-Boas is confident he will be able to deflect any late rival bids and secure the player. Oscar will join his compatriots Hulk and Elkeson at Shanghai SIPG and expects to double his wages in China. Hulk, who is believed to earn more than £300,000 a week, is currently the club’s record signing at £48m, though that fee will now be eclipsed by the offer submitted for Oscar.

It will be the second January in succession that Chelsea generate a substantial fee for one of their Brazilian contingent, having sold Ramires to Jiangsu Suning in last season’s mid-winter window. That deal was worth in excess of £20m, with the player signing terms worth around £200,000 a week.

This sale would grant Conte considerable leeway in the market as he seeks to reinforce his squad, with interest likely to be expressed in the Southampton centre-half Virgil van Dijk. That potential move is more likely to progress at the end of the season, with the Dutch defender’s club reluctant sellers. Regardless, the sale of Oscar will rule out any transfer for Cesc Fàbregas mid-season, with Conte having reiterated on Tuesday that the Spaniard remains “an important player”.

Conte, more used to Italy’s winter break, is about to experience his first festive programme of matches, with the Sunderland game a first of five in 22 days. As part of his preparations for that period he will seek to dissuade his squad from arranging a formal Christmas party amid the cluttered schedule, though he has revealed he is more than happy for his players to enjoy a beer immediately after games.

David Luiz posted a video on Instagram on Sunday of the post-match celebrations in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge after the hard-fought 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, with the footage showing Costa dancing with a beer in hand. The head coach has apparently sanctioned one post-match drink, when players are still effectively burning calories after their exertions out on the pitch. “After the game, for rehydration, you can drink Coca-Cola, or one beer,” Conte said. “It’s good for recovery. But one. Not a lot. And, after you finish the game, you must drink it quickly, not an hour after the end.”

Yet, while the club organise a festive event for the players and their families, Conte is more circumspect over his squad conducting their own pre-Christmas outing, conscious that focus must be on retaining the team’s current momentum.

“I’m sure I have great professionals in my players so, with that the case, I don’t think a coach or a manager can say: ‘Do this’ or ‘Don’t do this’,” said the Italian, who will train his players on Christmas Day. “I have great professionals and I know they will have the better attitude and behaviours in this situation. But, I must be honest, I’d prefer they stayed at home and celebrated with the family. Not [have] a great party.

“We are preparing to celebrate with our families during the week before Christmas, to stay together with our children, with our families, and on the 26th we play the game [against Bournemouth], a tough match. So maybe a glass of red wine – one – on Christmas Day is good.”