Brighton manager Graham Potter remains coy on the future of Irish central defender Shane Duffy amid rumblings that Celtic and West Ham United are interested in his signature.
Potter, who joined Nathan Murphy on Thursday's Off The Ball, highlighted the importance of the Derryman in the Brighton squad and emphasised that there have been no updates from the club on his potential to move elsewhere.
"He trained today with us, trained hard, trained well. We're having a pool and a darts competition tonight, a bit of team building so I'd imagine he'll be one of the favourites for that," Potter said.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Shane Duffy rues a missed chance during the Premier League match at the AMEX Stadium, Brighton."He's a fantastic guy, a fantastic lad. I've had an amazing relationship with him and he's a Brighton player so we're happy with that."
Celtic boss Neil Lennon, a guest on Sunday's Champions League Final preview, had indicated that the Glasgow club had made contact with Brighton over Duffy's availability.
The Seagulls have several options at centre-half to draw from ahead of the Premier League's return in two weeks. This is a positive problem to have as a manager, however, it may lead to some decisions being taken to trim the squad, according to Potter.
"I think there will be [decisions made]," said Potter when queried about the dilemma at centre-half.
"You always have to try and understand as much as we want to try and build our own team you have to respect the individual as well."
"[During] their careers there will be times where players will think 'OK, maybe I need to move and play a bit more football or maybe a decision comes from outside," Potter continued.
"Things happen in football while the [transfer] windows are open. That's what happens but we're happy with the group that we've got, happy with the dynamic at the moment and we want to improve from last year."
"We need good players to do that and Shane is certainly a good player."
Brighton and Hove Albion's Shane Duffy salutes the fans after the Premier League match at Vicarage Road, Watford.Whether Duffy leaves for pastures new remains to be seen.
Brighton are currently on pre-season duty in Scotland and for now, the Irishman remains a part of Potter's plans. The 28-year-old has been with the Premiership club since 2016.
Celtic were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday evening by Hungarian side Ferencvaros at Celtic Park. As of yet, there has been no indication that this would endanger a potential move to Celtic Park for Duffy.
Lennon questioned the desire of some of his players following the disappointing result and indicated that the Hoops would need to freshen up the squad. Duffy's obvious leadership skills would help Celtic as they look towards securing a historic ten league titles in a row.
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