Pato heading for China?

This morning’s EPM indicates Alexandre Pato could be leaving Villarreal. Apparently there have been contacts going on for awhile between the Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian, managed by Fabio Cannavaro, and the yellow Submarine.

Pato has decided he is willing to move to China, and this has resulted in an offer of “many millions”. However, negotiations are continuing and there is no certainty a deal will be done. There is also the small matter of the European transfer window closing January 31, while the Chinese league allows players to be registered until March. Villarreal has made it clear they’ll only agree to a deal if can be done before January 31.

Pato has scored six times and has four assists in 24 appearances in all competitions, which is not a great return. We paid €3m for him, so the opportunity is there to make a quick profit and move on, I guess. Tianjin were champions of the Chinese second level and so are putting together a club to compete in the first tier, now they’ve been promoted.