Report: Stoke watch Celtic’s Moussa Dembele in Old Firm draw; Brighton plotting bid this week

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Stoke City and Brighton and Hove Albion seem to both be taking serious looks at Celtic striker Moussa Dembele.

According to a report from The Scottish Sun, Stoke sent a scout to watch Moussa Dembele play in Celtic’s Old Firm draw at the weekend, while Brighton are expected to make a bid for the Frenchman at some stage this week.

Dembele appears to be one of the highly sought-after strikers at the moment, with The Scottish Sun reporting that West Ham, Everton and the Seagulls are all keen, with the latter plotting a £20 million offer for this week.

And Stoke have become the latest English side to take a serious look at the former Fulham man, with The Scottish Sun suggesting that Mark Hughes sent his chief scout to Parkhead to watch Dembele up close as he looks to bolster the Potters’ goalscoring options this month.

If Stoke’s decision on whether to pursue Dembele is made off the back of his Old Firm display, it would arguably not be too much of a surprise if the Premier League side step aside for the other teams in the running.

The 21-year-old struggled while he was on the pitch in the stalemate and was replaced shortly after the hour-mark. However, his form during his time in the Scottish Premiership will surely tempt Hughes to look past his most recent display.

Dembele has scored 40 goals in all competitions since arriving at Celtic last summer, and it surely seems, just based on his talent and potential, to be a matter of time before the Bhoys are having to respond to serious offers for the forward.

According to the report, Brighton look set to make the first of those bids – but perhaps Chris Hughton’s side will soon have plenty of rivals for his signature.