Brighton face the prospect of losing captain Dean Hammond for nothing at the end of the season as he continues to stall over a new contract.Albion chairman Dick Knight started preliminary discussions with Hammond, 24, last year but he has so far refused to commit to the club and will be out of contract in the summer.

The midfielder is a reported January target for Colchester but his agent, Tim Webb, insists the player wants Brighton to prove their ambition before he signs on the dotted line.

Webb told the Argus: "This should not be interpreted as a desire by Dean to leave the club. Dean would like to play in the Championship with Brighton but we cannot determine whether he is able to do that until the end of the season.

"Yes, he is a Bosman and the thought process might be that the agent will just move him on at the end of the season but that is not right because, if Albion get into the Championship and there is further discussion on a contract, I think there is every probability of keeping the player.

"From the player's point of view, there is no reason for him to agree on a new contract today and that is not because he wants to go but simply because he wants to see where Brighton are at the end of the season and what sort of investment Brighton make in players."

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