Brighton must smash their transfer record to sign Moussa Dembele as Celtic hold for £25m

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Brendan Rodgers has warned Brighton they will have to meet Celtic’s demands if they are to stand any chance of signing Moussa Dembele next month.

As Sportsmail revealed on Boxing Day, the Parkhead club are determined to hold out for £25million for the Frenchman.

Dembele came off the bench to replace Leigh Griffiths at Dens Park yesterday as the champions eased to a 2-0 victory that puts them 11 points clear at the top of the table.

Brighton must smash their transfer record to sign Celtic striker Moussa Dembele next month

But while conceding that Celtic would have a moral obligation to look at any deal that could see a player vastly improve their wages, Rodgers remained adamant that Dembele’s exit would be dependent on any club first matching the asking price.

‘Of course, we don’t want to lose any of our players,’ said Rodgers. ‘However, if something comes in, it goes back to that issue morally.

‘If there is something where a player can earn five times as much as what he’s on now, then it is very difficult to stop him, especially if you get a fee for him.

‘But there is a lot for that to happen, a lot that needs to be right. We don’t need to sell anyone. That’s the idea.

‘I think what is important at Celtic, especially when you are doing well, is you know there’s going to be interest in your players, so you have to prepare.

‘And if we do lose any of our players for reasons I’ve just said, we hope then we’ll have some to bring in and keep the continuity of how we are working.’

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Asked if the speculation surrounding talk of an £18m bid from Brighton for the player had affected Dembele mentally, Rodgers said: ‘We are fortunate the players are very focused on what we want to achieve and that’s been the really pleasing factor for me as a manager.

‘It’s not just about motivation. What the difference is with this group is the consistency with the motivation; it’s week after week after week, and day after day after day within it.

‘How they prepare themselves, how they sacrifice themselves. So he (Dembele), along with all the other players, is focused. And you saw that in the game. It was a great victory for us and we now move on to a little game (against Rangers) on Saturday.’

Jonny Hayes seems likely to sit that one out after being stretchered off following a nasty clash with Josh Meekings which also saw the Dundee defender hobble off.

But initial fears that the Dubliner may have suffered a broken leg appear to have been unfounded.

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‘Hopefully, it’s not too serious,’ added Rodgers, who also confirmed Scott Sinclair’s absence was precautionary.

‘It was clearly hurting him a lot when he was on the pitch, you could see that.

‘I feared the worst at the time. When I heard the noise, I was looking directly at his leg to see what state it was in.

‘He is away for an X-ray and that will tell us where he’s at. We hope it’s just bruising of his shin.’

Celtic eased to victory with goals from James Forrest and Griffiths, but Rodgers gave little indication that the latter’s contribution will see him start against Rangers.

‘Every player wants to start against Rangers — and rightly so,’ he said. ‘Leigh took his goal well and, tactically, he was very good.

‘Whenever he got the ball, he was good. He pressed well and got into good positions and his goal is what he does.’

Griffiths claimed his 10th goal for the season and hopes he’ll now lead the line when Rangers come calling.

‘It has been a frustrating time for me, not scoring and not playing as much as I would like,’ he said. ‘But there is a lot of competition for places.

‘We have a big game coming up so we will see what happens.’