• Liverpool had bid to sign Brazilian midfielder rejected last month • Jiangsu break Chinese transfer record for third time in a fortnight

Jiangsu Suning have agreed a deal to sign Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk for €50m (£38m), the Ukrainian club have announced on their website.

Liverpool had been closely linked with a move for the 26-year-old Brazilian during the January transfer window and Shakhtar said they rejected a €24m offer from the Premier League club for the attacking midfielder, with their asking price being €70m for a summer transfer.

However, Shakhtar have now announced a deal with the Chinese side Jiangsu. A statement on shakhtar.com read: “Shakhtar Donetsk and Jiangsu Suning FC have agreed on all the necessary formalities for the transfer of Alex Teixeira to the Chinese club. Transfer fee for the Brazilian midfielder is €50m. Shakhtar thank Alex for the time spent in the team and wish him success at his new club.”

Teixeira joined Shakhtar in December 2009 from Vasco da Gama and scored 89 goals in 223 appearances for the Ukrainian team. He has also helped the club claim five league titles, three domestic cups and five Super Cups.

Teixeira is the third big-money signing by a Chinese club in the past fortnight, with the Asian transfer record being broken on each occasion in the wake of a bumper new TV rights deal.

Jiangsu, who are coached by the former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu, paid €21.5m to sign Ramires from Chelsea before Guangzhou Evergrande smashed the record again this week with the €31.7m signing of Jackson Martínez from Atlético Madrid.