Alex Teixeira's former teammate Josef De Souza has claimed that the playmaker 'still dreams' of playing in the Premier League, despite snubbing a move to Liverpool in favour of the Chinese Super League.

The Brazilian made a £38m move to Jiangsu Suning from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, despite publicly admitting that he wanted to sign for Liverpool.

The Reds reportedly made two bids, one of which was rumoured to be £28m, but they failed in their pursuit and Teixeira joined the Chinese revolution.

According to De Souza, who is a friend of Teixeira's and played alongside the midfielder for Vasco Da Gama, the player is still open to one day playing for the Reds.

"I spoke to Alex, and really, he said that things were well advanced [to go to Liverpool]," De Souza told Esporte Interativo. "And then I talked to him again, when he signed for the club from China.

"And Alex, I can say that he was totally willing to go to the Premier League, and he still keeps that dream, from what he told me, in his heart.

"Of course he wanted to play for Liverpool, play in the Premier League. But it happened, football has these things. I think it was good for him, good for his family. Our career is very short, and the more you can combine one thing with another - play in a good league and earn money, that's great."

The transfer window in China closes at the end of this month.