(Sports Focus) Brazilian Teixeira joins China's Jiangsu on record 50 million euros (updated 2)

Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira has joined Super League side Jiangsu Suning on a 50-million-euro deal from Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, the Chinese club announced on Friday.

The 26-year-old agreed to a four-year contract with a new transfer record.

The sum beat the 2-day-old Chinese and Asian record set by Colombian Jackson Martinez who joined the Chinese and Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande on 42 million euros on Wednesday.

"Alex is a versatile player who can play may roles. He will boost the competitiveness of our team considerably. We believe that he is worth that sum," Suning club general manager Liu Jun said.

Liu revealed that Suning is seeking a forward before the new season kicks off in March.

"We plan to recruit the last player, an effective forward, to complete the jigsaw puzzle of foreign players," he said.

Teixeira will join compatriot Ramires in midfield, a China record of 28 million euros until Evergrande's signing of Martinez. The other foreign players are Croatian Jorge Sammir and Australian Trent Sainsbury.

The latest signing helped the Chinese Super League overtake the English Premier League in spending during the winter transfer window, the transfermarkt website said.

According to the website, the cashed-up CSL have so far spent 258.9 million euros in China's current transfer window. Premier League clubs spent 247.3 million euros in the European window. Endi