Brendan Rodgers Confirms 'No Contact' for Star Striker Despite Interest From Premier League Clubs

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that the club have received "no bid" for Moussa Dembélé, despite recent reports suggesting that Premier League newcomers Brighton had put a £18m offer on the table for the French striker.

The Seagulls have been struggling to find the back of the net this season, with only West Brom and Swansea scoring fewer goals than Brighton so far during the campaign.

Having previously attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and even Bayern Munich, Rodgers has confirmed that Celtic have no plans of selling Dembélé. 

"I am not sure where it's come from. Moussa's been linked with so many clubs since I've been here," Rodgers told BBC Radio Scotland.

"There's been no contact between the clubs and Moussa is very much still a Celtic player. There is no fee, no bid, there have been no talks.

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"I can't say [he will stay in January]. I live in the real world of football and you can say things that make you look silly.

"Someone might come in with a bid that is an astronomical amount of money for the club and the player and, if the player wants to go, that's modern football."

Rodgers also spoke to BT Sport, explaining how he was asked if the rumours were true by a family member.

"I was made aware of [the Brighton rumours] by some family members asking me if it was true or not," he added. "It was the first I'd heard of it. At this stage, he is still very much a Celtic player.

"When you've got good players and talented players… with all due respect, Celtic is a club that at times will lose some of the better players.

"But at this moment in time the squad is still very much intact and we want to add to it over the course of the January window.

"I can never stand here and say someone is definitely going to be here because you could get a ridiculous bid for a player and a situation arises when they're offered much more wages and they want to go.

"At this moment in time, the spirit of the group is very strong, their very happy and January will take its course."