Werder Bremen Reject Opening £10m Bid From Brighton for Highly Rated Danish Midfielder

Brighton & Hove Albion have had a £10m bid rejected for Werder Bremen’s Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney.

The 26-year-old has caught the attention of the Seagulls following a series of impressive performances in the Bundesliga, despite Werder's mediocre mid-table position.

Chris Hughton is understood to be keen on getting his business done early, in an apparent attempt to ward off any rival bids. The Daily Mail report though that his opening bid for Delaney has been rejected, with the German side reportedly putting a price tag of £16.8m on his head.

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Everton and Tottenham are also tracking the midfielder's progress, with his performances this season having seen his style likened to Tottenham star and international teammate Christian Eriksen.

Delaney moved to Werder Bremen in January last year after being named FC Copenhagen’s player of the year for two consecutive years, with Werder snapping him up for a paltry sum of £1.5m. 

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His stock has soared this season however, with the Seagulls likely to return with a second bid after Bremen manager Frank Baumann confirmed, as reported by The Sun, that the Dane would consider a move away.

"Thomas told us that he feels happy here. But if a top offer comes in over, he would also like us to accept it."

Brighton's interest comes off the back of an impressive first campaign in the Premier League, with Hughton's side having exceeded expectations by comfortably seeing off the threat of relegation.

Having avoided the drop, Brighton will now look to strengthen this summer as they try to ensure avoiding the dreaded 'second season syndrome' curse.