Brighton transfer news: Seagulls eye fresh bid for Spartak Moscow’s Ze Luis after £5m offer turned down
Chris Hughton's side are desperately short of firepower having scored just 14 times in 18 top-flight matches
BRIGHTON are pondering a fresh bid for Spartak Moscow striker Ze Luis.
The Seagulls have already had a £5million offer turned down for the Cape Verde international.
But boss Chris Hughton is eager to boost his newly-promoted side's attack, which has so far managed just 14 goals in 18 Premier League games.
And club officials are understood to have approached Spartak about 26-year-old Ze Luis, who has 15 goals in 55 games for them.
However, sources in Moscow claim the reigning champions are unwilling to part with the former Sporting Braga frontman next month.
They are aiming to defend their title and contest the Europa League and want him to spearhead that charge.
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Ze Luis helped Spartak to a league and Russian Super Cup double last season.
And he has played a part in his national team's recent rise from football obscurity.
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He also played in Spartak's Champions League trip to Liverpool on December 6.
But he was powerless to prevent Jurgen Klopp's Reds romping to a 7-0 success.
Capped 17 times by Cape Verde, he moved to Portugal at a young age and first made his name with second-tier Gil Vicente before joining Braga.
The striker had a spell on loan to Hungarian side Videoton before Spartak snapped him up in 2015.
His full moniker is Jose Luis Mendes Andrade, but he favours the short form of his first two names.