Burnley boss Sean Dyche has claimed that he would be surprised if Brazilian midfielder Oscar decided to leave Chelsea for the Chinese Super League purely for financial gain.
On Friday morning, it was confirmed that Chelsea had agreed to sell the 25-year-old to Chinese club Shanghai SIPG, where he will reportedly collect wages in excess of £400,000 a week.
Dyche has branded the financial aspect of the Chinese move "extraordinary", but has denied suggestions that players moving to Asia do so purely for the money on offer from the super-rich clubs.
"They are extraordinary amounts of money for people to go over there so it seems that some of the younger players are attracted by that. I don't know the details of everyone's personal situation, every player, that is. But it seems they are attracting some players," Dyche told reporters.
"They'll have their own decision whether it is right or wrong to go there. For some it may be the pay, for some it may be different reasons. They are their own people and will have their own advisors, family situations etc. I'm sure they factor all that in.
"You've got to remember that these players that you are referencing, they are wealthy in their own right anyway so I don't think it is purely the money. It may well be but I'd be surprised if it is just that because most of the players who are going over there are wealthy anyway. So I think they'll have more than just the money on their minds."
Shanghai's purchase of Oscar is believed to have cost them in the region of £52m.
Matt Law
