Chinese starlet Chen Tao has come out claiming he would like to leave his current club Tianjin Teda and move to Europe, preferably Italy. The player has been linked to Novara and just recently his club have opened up to his possible departure.

“I expressed my desire to play in Europe, preferably in Italy,” Chen Tao told Chinese newspaper SoccerNews. “I want to take this step even though financially it won’t be so convenient considering the offers from other Chinese clubs. In the past two years in Tianjin I always gave my best and achieved a lot: I would like to thank the directors, the fans and all of those who were close to me.”

Chen Tao now has a serious chance to join Serie A club Novara: “I am waiting for my one and only agent, Oberto Petricca, who is coming with a letter from Novara before talking to my directors and see what’s going to happen,” added the player.

Meanwhile, Tianjin confirmed they received several offers from Italy and China. But the club will only sell at the right price considering that their star man contributed to the qualification to the Asian Champions League after their success in the Chinese Cup against Shandong Luneng last Saturday.