Should Dembele stick with Celtic rather than making Brighton move?

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Linked with Chelsea over the summer, would Moussa Dembele now be foolish to leave Celtic for Brighton?

Moussa Dembele of Celtic is challenged by James Tavernier of Rangers during the Scottish Premier League match at Celtic Park.

Moussa Dembele is being strongly linked with a move to Brighton and Hove Albion from Celtic in the January transfer window, with the Daily Mail reporting the Premier League club are ready to table a £20m bid.

After being substituted during the 0-0 Old Firm derby draw with Rangers on December 30 and heading straight down the tunnel for a shower rather than supporting his team from the bench, former Hoops midfielder Kris Commons accused Dembele of disrespect.

Kris Commons of Celtic takes on Steven Lawless of Patrick Thistle during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match at Firhill Stadium.

“Dembele was disrespecting his team-mates,” Commons wrote in the Scottish Daily Mail.

“Perhaps his head is away and he wants to leave. That really struck me – that probably his time is up. I think there will be little rumbles in the changing room, because it was very, very strange that he did it.”

Yet would a move to newly promoted Brighton who, in all honesty, despite being in 12th position in the table currently are likely to be in a relegation battle this season and could be back in the Championship by next term, really be a great move for Dembele?

After scoring 32 goals in 49 appearances in all competitions as the Bhoys won a domestic treble in 2016/17, the 21-year-old was being rumoured by the Metro to be the subject of a £40m potential bid from Chelsea.

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match against Stoke City.

Six months on the Sun reports that the Blues have cooled their interest in Dembele, with the Seagulls now his most likely destination.

This is probably largely because of the France Under-21 international’s drop in form – partly due to injury – with the forward scoring eight times in 21 games so far this campaign.

Under the guidance of manager Brendan Rodgers, Parkhead has been the stage where Dembele has attracted the interest of some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the past; so rather than rushing into a move should the youngster continue his development there rather than rushing into a move that could see him playing back in the second tier of English football before long?