Brighton & Hove Albion 'have Moussa Dembele bid accepted'

Brighton & Hove Albion have reportedly had a bid in the region of £18m accepted for Celtic striker Moussa Dembele.

A host of clubs have been linked with the 21-year-old in recent months, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Everton and West Ham United, with some reports suggesting that the Scottish side were looking for a transfer fee as high as £27m.

According to Sky Sports News, however, the Seagulls have succeeded with a bid of £18m - a figure that will make Dembele the club's record signing, surpassing the £13.5m paid for winger Jose Izquierdo over the summer following their promotion to the Premier League.

The Frenchman joined Celtic from Fulham for a fee of just £400,000 in summer 2016 and went on to score 32 goals in 49 appearances during the Bhoys' remarkable unbeaten domestic season last term.

Dembele - a graduate of the Paris Saint-Germain youth setup - missed the start of this season with a thigh injury but already has eight goals in 19 outings since recovering.

Brighton, meanwhile, are 12th in the Premier League table and five points above the relegation zone at the midway point of the campaign.