Brighton have record £14.8m offer rejected to sign Florin Andone from Deportivo La Coruña

Brighton & Hove Albion have had a club record offer worth €16m (£14.8m) rejected to sign Florin Andone from Deportivo La Coruña, IBTimes UK sources understand. The La Liga side are reluctant to negotiate his departure but they could be tempted to cash in on for the right price if they get Lucas Perez from Arsenal before the transfer window closes.

Andone, 24, joined Deportivo from Cordoba last summer after proving to be one of the sensations of the Spanish Second division during the 2015-2016 campaign, scoring 21 goals in 36 appearances.

The Romania international needed little time to adapt to the Spanish top flight last season. Yet, he netted 12 goals in 37 La Liga appearance after being charged with filling the huge gap left by Lucas' departure to Arsenal.

Earlier this month, Burnley made an offer worth around £12m to lure him to the Premier League as manager Sean Dyche was then in the market for a striker to replace new Watford star Andre Gray. Chris Wood has since arrived at Turf Moor from Leeds United.

Deportivo rejected the Clarets ' bid with manager Pepe Mel considering him a key member of the team, particularly as they struggle to convince Arsenal to part ways with Perez only a year after leaving them for the Gunners in a £17m deal.

However, Brighton are still confident of tempting the La Liga side to change their stance over Andone after having stepped up the negotiations to get his services before the transfer window closes on Thursday [31 August].

Chris Hughton's side have made three different offers to sign the striker in recent days and IBTimes UK sources understand that the most recent bid eclipses the £13.5m they recently paid to sign Colombian international Jose Izquierdo from Club Brugge.

Adone has a €30m release clause in his contract and Deportivo were not planning to listen offers for him this summer.

However, IBTimes UK understand that an offer between €18m and €20m offer could soften their stance - especially if they manage to re-sign Deportivo fan favourite Perez from Arsenal.

The La Liga side are still in talks with Arsenal to bring the Spaniard back to the Riazor stadium on loan. Yet, the potential sale of Andone would give them a financial boost to step up their offer and sign another forward before the transfer window closes in Spain on Friday (1 September).