Tianjin Quanjian's bid to sign Diego Costa from Chelsea has been scuppered by new rules in the Chinese Super League, says club owner Shu Yuhui.

Now Chinese clubs will only be able to field three foreign players per game when the new season starts.

"This situation has brought a change to our signing plans," said Shu.

Clubs could previously select four foreign players of any nationality and one Asian player in a matchday squad.

Shu said Tianjin would have made a "big investment" this year had the previous rule remained in place.

Costa had been heavily linked with a move to China that would be worth £30m a year, though Chelsea had no intention of selling him.

"The online reports about Costa - it's true we'd like him, and we made an offer for Cavani and were deep in negotiations," said Shu, in comments reported by the South China Morning Post.