Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly seen a £12m bid for attacker Leandro Trossard rejected by Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 28-year-old's agent, Josy Comhair, recently revealed that his client has expressed his desire to leave the Seagulls after falling out with head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
Trossard has been dropped from the matchday squad in Brighton's last two matches against Middlesbrough and Liverpool following an alleged training ground bust-up with a teammate.
The Belgium international is now said to be 'ready for the next step' in his career, and a number of clubs including Spurs are believed to be monitoring his situation.
A recent report claims that Brighton have turned down a verbal offer from Antonio Conte's side to sign Trossard in the January transfer window.
According to The Athletic, that offer was worth around £12m, but Brighton value the attacker at a much higher price.
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The report adds that Tottenham's informal interest has not been followed up and it remains to be seen whether they will return with an improved bid before the January 31 deadline.
Meanwhile, North London rivals Arsenal have allegedly been offered the chance to sign Trossard this month after missing out on Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea, who – now managed by Graham Potter – have also been credited with an interest in the Belgian.
Trossard was understood to have just six months remaining on his contract at the Amex, but Brighton are said to have triggered a 12-month extension, meaning his deal now runs until the summer of 2024.
This extension seemingly boosts Brighton's chances of negotiating a higher fee with interested clubs for their joint-top scorer, who has netted seven times so far this season along with Pascal Gross and Alexis Mac Allister.
Despite being frozen out of the first team, De Zerbi has refused to rule out the prospect of Trossard making a return for Brighton in the near future, should he remain at the club beyond the January window.
"I want to be clear about Trossard. I'm sorry for the situation. I don't think I've made a mistake with him. The people inside Brighton know very well the situation," the Italian told reporters over the weekend as quoted by The Sun.
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"I'm fine with myself and I'm ready to open the doors for him, because he's a good guy and a very important player for us. He changes the team, but he has to understand and to work with my attitude, in my way, because I am the coach, I decide the rules inside the dressing room, only this.
"I'm honest, I'm very clear. When I want to say something I speak inside the family and our family is the dressing room. I don't want to speak about the communication of his agent, because I don't know him, I know only Leo.
"I'm ready to listen to him without a problem, because this situation is important. It's not a bad situation, it's a great situation, because if he learns, if we improve our way, we can only improve, and to achieve our dreams there is only one way.
"To be open to improve and ready to work hard, because we are Brighton, a team of medium level in this competition, so we have to think about the team more than ourselves."
Brighton have had no problems scoring without the presence of Trossard in attack, as they have found the net 12 times in their last three games across all competitions, including Saturday's 3-0 Premier League win over Liverpool.
The Seagulls currently sit seventh in the top-flight table, just three points behind Tottenham in fifth and eight points behind the top four.
Oliver Thomas
