MX23RW : Sunday, December 29 12:27:41| >> :120:10990:10990:

Chris Hughton prepared to break Brighton & Hove Albion's transfer record

Chris Hughton acknowledges that Brighton & Hove Albion will have to spend big if they are to bring in the striking target they are after during the winter window.

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton has suggested that he is willing to break the club's transfer record to strengthen his attacking options next month.

The Seagulls splashed out £13.5m to bring in Jose Izquierdo from Club Brugge in the summer, beating the fees paid for Davy Propper and Mathew Ryan earlier in the same window.

Hughton was keen to bring in a new striker at the time, but he missed out on his targets and Brighton have since struggled in front of goal.

Having netted just 14 Premier League goals all term - only West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City have scored fewer - Hughton will not shy away from spending big in January.

"If we look at the value of players we saw a huge increase this summer," he told reporters. "I'm quite sure that the valuations won't be going down in this period.

"Anybody that might move from one club to another, whether it's from an English club to another English club or a foreign club to an English club, the values will be what they were in the summer if not more.

"We will only do something in January if it's right for us to do. We need to make sure that our squad is as strong as possible going into this last stage of the season.

"If there is the right player available and it's one that we feel can add to what we do here, then there will be interest but only if it's right. We will work as hard as we can leading into January and if anything happens, it'll be because it's right."

Moussa Dembele is the player to have been most strongly linked with a move to Brighton, but Hughton refused to confirm if he was interested in the Celtic striker.

ID:314674: cacheID:314674:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3011:
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Restore Data
Share this article now:
A very alarmed Moussa Dembele in action for Celtic in September 2016
Read Next:
Brighton to bid £20m for Moussa Dembele?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Cardinals
9-13
Rams
6pm
Jets
@
Bills
6pm
Panthers
@
Buccaneers
6pm
Colts
@
Giants
6pm
Titans
@
Jags
6pm
Raiders
@
Saints
9.25pm
Packers
@
Vikings
9.05pm
Dolphins
@
Browns
6pm
Cowboys
@
Eagles
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool17133140172342
2Arsenal18106235161936
3Chelsea18105338211735
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1810442419534
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle188553021929
6Bournemouth188552721629
7Manchester CityMan City188463026428
8Fulham187742623328
9Aston Villa188462629-328
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton186842726126
11Brentford187383232024
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1872939261323
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham186572330-723
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd186482124-322
15Everton173861522-717
16Crystal Palace183871826-817
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1843112940-1115
18Leicester CityLeicester1835102240-1814
19Ipswich TownIpswich1826101633-1712
20Southampton1813141137-266


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!