Yves Bissouma may cost more than £40m this summer, with Brighton & Hove Albion keen to maximise their cash intake for his departure.

The Athletic report that Brighton owner Tony Bloom wouldn’t consider even a £40m bid for Yves Bissouma this summer. They know there’s a huge amount of interest in the player, and want to see that reflected in the offers they receive.

According to the same report, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Leicester City, and Monaco are among the clubs credited with pursuing the 24-year-old.

Multiple outlets have already linked Arsenal with Bissouma, from the Mirror’s report of their interest last month to his agent apparently confirming Arsenal’s involvement. But the price tag might prove problematic.

On the one hand, it’s not hard to see why Brighton value Bissouma so highly. He’s a guaranteed starter for the club, putting in regular impressive performances in the Premier League. He’s also still young, only just starting to approach his prime years.

But the Mali international only has two years left on his contract this summer, so paying over £40m for him does still seem a little steep.

Arsenal spent that much on Thomas Partey last summer, but that was for a player with Champions League pedigree at a top club. Bissouma’s European exploits are limited to the 14 minutes he played in a Europa League qualifier against FK Qabala once.

That doesn’t mean he’s not worth the money, but you’d imagine Arsenal will want to explore their options first.