As reported by The Daily Mail, Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton has refused to rule out a January move for Celtic forward Moussa Dembele.

What's the story?

For Celtic supporters, it probably feels like Dembele has been linked with a move away from the club ever since he arrived from Fulham last year, but as time draws on the prospect of that becoming a reality grows.

With the January transfer window just days away, speculation surrounding his future is sure to ramp up.

Interesting comments then from Chris Hughton, who has refused to rule out a move that The Daily Mail reports could be worth £20m plus add-ons, testing Celtic's £30m valuation.

As quoted by the paper, the Brighton boss said:

He is a very good player and he has had a very good season, but he’s not our player. He is one of probably 100 names you could mention that, if I had an opportunity to want them, then you probably would. But he’s not our player, like anyone else you could throw into the mix. We’ll work as hard as we can in this period of time leading into January. If anything happens in January, it will happen because it is right and the processes leading into it would be right.

It certainly sound likes the Frenchman could be on Brighton's working list of targets, which could make January an interesting one if other clubs decide to enter the fray, with The Mail also reporting Everton are showing strong interest.

Time to cash in?

January could actually be the prime time to sell Moussa Dembele at the peak of his value, especially if current trends continue at Celtic Park. The French striker has actually struggled for game time since the Hoops were defeated by Anderlecht.

He hasn't started a league match for over a month, despite being fit for the majority of that time with Brendan Rodgers opting to use both Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths in his place.

If Rodgers deems other players should be playing ahead of him anyway, then it makes sense to realise his value next month, rather than have any potential transfer fee knocked down in the summer.

Having scored 40 goals in 67 appearances for the Hoops, he clearly still has plenty to offer Celtic, but money north of £20m, as reported by The Daily Mail, is hard to turn down at this stage.

https://video.footballfancast.com/video-2015/rafa-facts-2.mp4