Darren Bent today admitted he jumped at the chance to sign for Albion – despite dropping down a division.

The Aston Villa striker has joined the Seagulls on an initial one-month loan and is likely to make his debut against Fulham on Saturday.

Bent’s last regular-season Championship game was for Ipswich at Withdean on the final day of the 2004-05 season.

But, almost a decade on, he is ready to try his luck again in the second tier following a frustrating season so far at Villa Park.

He said: “Anyone who knows me and has known me for a long time knows that all I care about is football.

“It has never been about money or anything like that.

“It has always been about playing football. I’m always at my happiest when I’m playing football.

“I wasn’t getting a lot of game time at Aston Villa and it doesn’t bother me that I’ve had to drop down a division to play football.

“I’ve seen Brighton play and they play like a Premier League team. They play good football. And that is why I wanted to come here and join them.”

Bent is confident he can offer Albion’s goalscoring record a timely boost given the right service.

He added: “Over the years I’ve managed to pick up a knack of scoring goals and working hard in training on my finishing day in and day out and just being in the right place at the right time.

“I’ve always managed to score goals when I’ve played regularly and hopefully this spell at Brighton won’t be any different.

“I love scoring goals. I still feel like the same 11-year-old boy who, when he puts the ball in the back of the net, it’s the best feeling in the world. I’m sure that will never change.”