Watch: Steve Bruce admits he attempted to sign Premier League record-breaker for Newcastle

This summer has seen the £100m ceiling for football transfers smashed to pieces after Brighton and Hove Albion sold Moises Caicedo to Chelsea for an astonishing £115m, though former Newcastle manager, Steve Bruce, admits he could’ve signed the player for a fraction of the price.

Whether Caicedo has justified such a price tag is a moot point at this stage, though it’s clear he is midfielder of the highest quality.

Had Bruce been able to bring him to St. James’ Park, it raises a question as to whether the Ecuadorian might well have been able to turn the club’s fortunes around.

“When I was at Newcastle we tried to sign Moises Caicedo for £4.5million and I remember thinking what a good player he was,” Bruce said on Sam Allardyce’s No Tippy Tappy Football podcast.

“The chief scout at Newcastle, Steve Nickson, came and told me that I had to see him play and that he was sensational.

“He ended up choosing Brighton instead of Newcastle and that will go down as one that we missed out on because now he’s gone on to become the British record transfer fee for £115million, but he is a top, top player.”