Crystal Palace have emerged as the leaders in the race to sign Celtic striker Moussa Dembele, according to the Mirror.

The Frenchman was left out of his side's 2-1 Scottish Premiership win over Partick Thistle on Tuesday night.

That came after assistant manager Chris Davies told the Scottish Sun there is "an acceptance that maybe Moussa feels it is the right time for him to move on."

Palace are believed to be favourites to secure Dembele's signature, although he has also been linked with Brighton, West Ham and Everton.

Eagles' manager Roy Hodgson is searching for a new striker having been left short of options in the position.

Connor Wickham is currently sidelined with injury while Christian Benteke has found the net just once in 18 games this season.

It appears that Dembele - who has scored 40 goals in 70 appearances for Celtic - is Palace's prime target.

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Davies insisted earlier this month, however, that the Bhoys will demand a fee of more than £20m for the 21-year-old.

“It’s definitely well below his valuation, that’s for sure," he told the Scottish Sun. “The message has been pretty clear from the manager, he spoke about it last month. For us, we know this is the best place for Moussa to develop and improve.

“He is still 20-years-old, he has development left in him. “Obviously, when you are doing well and especially when you are a striker, then there is going to be big money and talk thrown about a lot, especially during transfer windows.

“But we can’t control that, we just have to concentrate on trying to develop him as a player. Moussa is happy and we are working hard, and that’s that.”