Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Keith Andrews is hoping that the club can retain the services of Liam Bridcutt beyond the end of the January transfer window.

The 24-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Amex Stadium in recent weeks, with some reports stating that former Seagulls boss Gus Poyet is planning a £2m bid to bring him to Sunderland.

Crystal Palace are believed to have been knocked back in their pursuit of the highly-rated midfielder in the summer, and Andrews is hopeful that the club can show similar strength to fend off interest once again next month in a bid to strengthen the team's promotion push.

He told The Argus: "It's one of those things that is not really in our hands. I know it was kind of spoken about in August that he may or may not have left.

"Liam is obviously a fantastic player coming into the prime of his career. He is still only relatively a young lad but he has got bags of experience and if he does go it would be a massive blow and a big loss to the lads, because he is a popular player.

"Hopefully we can keep hold of him, hopefully we can keep hold of everybody because if we do I'd be very confident that we will be pushing."

Oscar Garcia's men currently sit ninth in the Championship table, three points adrift of the play-off places.