Lewis Dunk's agent David Lee has told Sports Mole that it would be difficult for the Brighton & Hove Albion defender to turn down the chance to join a top-six club.

The 28-year-old was linked with a £40m switch to Chelsea earlier this summer, only to quickly bring an end to speculation over his future by signing a new long-term contract with the Seagulls.

Lee confirmed that Dunk is happy and settled at Brighton and has already rejected moves to a number of other Premier League clubs, but that genuine interest from a top-six team could be too good to turn down for the centre-back.

"Every game you go and watch Brighton, he's in the top three players for sure. He's the best player... I might be biased but I think if Brighton lost him that'd be a massive blow to them. The owner has been great, the owner and the board, every time we've asked for a new contract," Lee told Sports Mole.

"I think he's signed a new five-year contract five summers out of the last six. They've kept bumping him up because there is interest and they want to keep him and keep him happy. They nip it in the bud really, if there is a little bit of interest they give him a long-term contract, up his money so they've managed him as a club really well.

"They've been really fair - a lot of clubs would say 'well, you've got four years left so no, unlucky' but they've said 'no actually you've done great and we're pushing the barrier up again and we're taking you with us'. They've been great, they've managed him really well and he's never really had to put his foot down or kick off to get something - it's always been an easy one to do.

"There's been a lot of interest - every summer I get calls on him. It's Brighton's interest as well to keep him on long-term deals. The boy's happy there, his kids are in school, he's just built his own house in Brighton, he's really happy there.

"I think if a top-six club comes along and really push the boat out for him then it'd be hard to say no, but he's had quite a lot of chances to move to other Premier League clubs but doesn't see that as a forward step. It's just a shame he's not in the England squad as I think he fully deserves it."

Dunk has spent his entire career with Brighton so far, making 306 appearances for the club across all competitions and helping them from League One into the Premier League.

Listen to the full episode of the podcast here:

Watch the full episode of the podcast here: