Brighton and Bournemouth battle for £12m-rated Ligue 1 striker

Brighton and Bournemouth are set to lock horns for the signature of £12m-rated Toulouse striker Martin Braithwaite, reports The Daily Mirror.

Braithwaite has spent the last four years with Ligue 1 side Toulouse but is now a firm target for two Premier League sides keen to bolster their offensive options this summer.

Brighton have already broken their club-transfer record by signing Mat Ryan as their new No.1 goalkeeper but there has been little progress made in strengthening elsewhere aside from the arrival of Ingolstadt midfielder Pascal Grob.

Toulouse aren’t in the position to turn down big offers from England and will be forced to sell at the right price if either Premier League side firm up their interest with a formal offer.

Bournemouth, who have already re-signed Jermain Defoe this summer, are also keen on the £12m-rated Danish striker.

The 26-year-old has scored 22 goals in 39 Ligue 1 appearances over the last two Ligue 1 campaigns, which is impressive considering Toulouse have spent that time battling relegation.

However, of players that have scored 10 Ligue 1 goals in that time only Toulouse teammate Andy Delort (9.4%) has a worse conversion rate than the Denmark international (10.7%) of all strikers.

For more stats on Martin Braithwaite, click here to visit his WhoScored player page