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Jose Fonte has agreed to move to the Chinese Super League in a €5.5million transfer to Dalian Yifang.

The Portugal international will sign a three-year contract for newly promoted Dalian, and is due to travel to Asia on Monday to complete his exit from West Ham United .

The central defender's departure from the English Premier League club follows co-owner David Sullivan's decision to insult Fonte and Scotland international Robert Snodgrass in well publicised criticism of Slaven Bilic's recruitment policy.

Sullivan cut off Bilic's recruitment budget midway through the summer transfer window before sacking the Croat coach in early November.

(Image: West Ham United/Twitter)

Seeking to insulate himself from criticism of West Ham's player trading, Sullivan had told the Guardian newspaper that: “I’m not involved in the strategy. The manager says he wants Fonte from Southampton and Snodgrass from Hull. My kids begged me not to sign them."

Fonte was understandably unimpressed by his employer's words. “It’s ignorance,” the Portuguese said the next day. “I’m not going to say anything. It’s not going to change who I am.

"It’s not going to change what I do. I’m going to keep being the good professional that I am. I am going to keep working hard to try and help my team-mates and the manager. What has been said has no effect on me or who I am.

(Image: West Ham United FC)

“I am 33 years of age. I have 500 or 600 appearances. I know what I have done in football. I know how hard I have to work to be in this position. It makes no difference to me. I will still continue to be the same guy I have always been.”

Bilic's successor, David Moyes , has not provided Fonte with a single minute of playing time since the Scot's November appointment.

Fonte, who turned 34 last month, has been listed three times as an unused substitute during that period and was made available for sale in the January window.

A pivotal figure in Portugal's 2016 European Championship victory, Fonte spent eight seasons at Southampton before his January 2017 transfer to West Ham, captaining the south coast club during its rise from League One to the Europa League.

Bilic signed the central defender for an initial £8m in the aftermath of summer interest from Manchester United and a failed £9m bid from Everton.

Dalian are reinforcing their squad with European players ahead of their CSL campaign, which begins next week. The Liaoning province club have also been negotiating the transfer of Belgium forward Yannick Carrasco from Atletico Madrid.

It is understood that Fonte's new contract is worth €4m a year, after tax.