Carl Hutchings is not joining Albion after all after his old club Brentford stepped in.

The Bristol City midfielder is now re-joining Brentford with a view to a permament move. The shock development was revealed by boss Micky Adams this morning. Hutchings signed for the Seagulls on a month's loan yesterday, but now Brentford boss Ron Noades has snapped him up.

Adams said: "Carl Hutchings is signing for Brentford. Ron Noades has agreed a fee with Bristol City and he is going there on a month's loan with a view to staying. He signed all the relevant papers with us yesterday. Unfortunately Bristol City held them back. I got a call yesterday afternoon to say there might be a slight problem, but the boy assured me he would be training with us today. In fact I am absolutely devastated. This has put the kybosh on everything that has happened this week."

I

t is the second time Albion have lost out to Brentford over a loan signing from Bristol City this season. Italian Lorenzo Pinamonte joined Bees in a £75,000 deal last week instead of staying with the Seagulls. Meanwhile, Albion have signed rookie striker Bobby Zamora from Bristol Rovers on a month's loan.

The 19-year-old trained with the Seagulls this morning and is expected to make his League debut against Plymouth Argyle at Withdean tomorrow. Zamora scored eight goals in six games, one of them against Crawley, in a recent loan spell with Dr Martens League Premier Division outfit Bath City.

The Londoner, a prolific marksman in Rovers' reserves and youth team, was offered a two year contract last season and has made three substitute appearances in the first team this season. Adams said: "He is a young lad with potential. He has been on the fringes of their first team and comes highly recommended from their manager Ian Holloway."

Roy Dolling, Rovers' Youth Development manager revealed: "Bobby was at Norwich at first, but they did not offer him a YTS. "He did very well at Bath and now he needs games in the Football League. He is ever so good at holding the ball up and is a skillfull player inside the box who can score goals.

"I think he would be a great asset to anybody. Our first choice strikers, Jason Roberts and Jamie Cureton, have been scoring goals all season, but Ian rates Bobby very highly. He has done quite well when he has come on for us and I think he will do well in the Third Division."

Charlie Oatway and Andy Crosby return after suspension for tomorrow's game, but Darren Carr (calf) and Darren Freeman (leg infection) are doubts.

Albion (from): Walton; Watson, Cullip, Carr, Crosby, Palmer, Mayo, Aspinall, Rogers, Oatway, Armstrong, Hart, Freeman, Zamora, Thomas, Ramsay, Ormerod.

Plymouth Argyle (probable): Sheffield; Heathcote, Taylor, Barratt, O'Sullivan, Middleton, Wotton, Hargreaves, Beswetherick, Gritton, McGregor. Subs (from): Wills, Belgrave, Phillips, Veysey, Morrison-Hill, Adams.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.