West Ham United striker Nikica Jelavic has joined Chinese second division side Beijing Renhe, the Premier League club's chairman David Gold tweeted.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic signed the 30-year-old from Championship club side Hull City on September 1 and Jelavic has scored once in 13 league appearances under his fellow Croatian this season.
The forward joins the likes of ex-Chelsea midfielder Ramires, Atletico Madrid striker Jackson Martinez and Shakhtar Donetsk's Alex Teixeira, who all made the switch to China over the past few weeks.
“Nikica Jelavic has completed his move to Chinese second division team Beijing Renhe. Good luck. Nikica,” Gold said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Australia’s top goalscorer Tim Cahill, meanwhile, has had his contract terminated by top-tier Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, he said Tuesday, a year after he joined.
The 36-year-old veteran and former Everton star agreed to extend his stay just months ago, but said on Instagram: "I'm very sorry to announce that I have reached an agreement with Shanghai Shenhua to terminate my contract."
“I’m not part of the new coach Manzano’s plans for the 2016 season,” he said he had been told.
A spokesman for Shanghai Shenhua did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Cahill, one of the biggest foreign names in the Chinese Super League (CSL), said in the posting he was “very sad”, adding: “Regardless of whether my contract is being honoured and paid out in full, I would much rather have seen it out.”
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He did not reveal his future plans, but said he would share more information once “final details” are completed.
Cahill left Everton in 2012 and joined the New York Red Bulls of MLS.
Many fans posted comments asking him to join their clubs, including Everton supporters urging him to return to Goodison Park, and backers of several clubs in Australia’s A-League.
Shanghai Shenhua have hosted high-profile foreign players before, including Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka of France, and last month signed Inter Milan's Colombian international Fredy Guarin – the latest in a stream of European-based players to head east.
Cahill said last week that many of the new arrivals in the cashed-up CSL were motivated by greed.
The Chinese record transfer fee has been smashed four times in the current transfer window, culminating in Jiangsu Suning paying Shakhtar Donetsk €50 million (Dh205m) for Brazilian midfielder Teixeira.
Earlier Guangzhou Evergrande snapped up Martinez for €42 million, and Jiangsu signed Ramires €28 million.
“You’re turning down Liverpool, you’re leaving Chelsea,” Cahill told an Australian television station, referring to Teixeira and Ramires.
“The choices that players are making are not about football like it was in my day, they’re purely about personal gains and it depends what you want as an individual,” he said.
“Is it going to help players? No. Is it going to be big for the country? Yes.”
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