Arsenal were reportedly interested in Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo in January – going as far as to submit a substantial bid for the Ecuadorian – but reports suggest that Arsenal will have to pay considerably more than this if they are to secure his signature.

According to a tweet by journalist Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal submitted a £70 million bid for the player in the winter window. However, this was laughed off by the Brighton hierarchy, as they said Arsenal could have ‘half the player’ for this price.

In Romano’s tweet, Brighton CEO Paul Barber is quoted as saying (speaking to The Beautiful Game Podcast): “Joking aside, we don’t provide numbers. It amuses us when we see numbers in the media because they’ve not come from us.”

While it seems likely that Arsenal would have to pay more than £70 million for Caicedo, Barber did not put a price tag on his head – which implies that the 21-year-old is not for sale at this current moment.

With the right finances, anything is possible – but for now, it appears that the Gunners will need to pay an astronomically high fee if they wish to bring Caicedo on board in the summer.

Instead of exercising the option to purchase Caicedo, Arsenal bought another Seagulls player instead – Leandro Trossard. While Caicedo would be an excellent addition to the Gunners’ squad, there may be cheaper options available.