Arsenal’s move to sign Malcom on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season fell through over an excessive loan fee, according to a report.

According to The S*n (via CalcioMercato), Arsenal tried to loan Malcom as well as Denis Suarez from Barcelona in the January window.

Like Suarez, the winger has had a good career elsewhere, but he struggled to win favour under Ernesto Valverde. The 21-year-old ended up on the bench or out of the squad completely on the vast majority of occasions.

As a result, it made sense for Arsenal to try and bring him in, but the report suggests Barcelona wanted an €8m loan fee. That would be a ridiculous sum to pay on top of wages for just a few months of football, so the club turned it down.

Arsenal have had genuine links to Malcom in the past, particularly before he moved to Spain.

However, the rumours in this window never came from any source more reliable than the English tabloids. We know that Arsenal held talks with Barcelona over Suarez, so it’s perfectly possible they discussed Malcom as well, but it clearly didn’t even go far enough to become a regular gossip piece in the Spanish press.

Whatever the truth of the rumours linking Arsenal to Malcom in January, Unai Emery’s side will now have to do without him until summer.