Albion are still hot on the trail of goalkeeper Niki Mäenpää – after seeing him beaten three times.

The Seagulls remain the preferred choice of the Finland international but Championship rivals Nottingham Forest have now entered the race to sign him.

Albion had a representative in Holland on Monday as Mäenpää’s club, VVV-Venlo, were dumped out of the play-offs.

They lost 3-0 at NAC Breda and 4-0 on aggregate, wrecking their hopes of promotion to the top-flight.

It was Mäenpää’s final appearance for the club. The 30-year-old, now a free agent, is flying to England and will have talks on Monday with Forest.

They need a replacement for Karl Darlow, who has returned to Newcastle after they loaned him back to Forest for the season.

Albion are likely to firm up their persistent interest in Mäenpää once manager Chris Hughton returns from holiday.

The departure of goalkeeping coach Antti Niemi back to Finland for family reasons has not affected Mäenpää’s interest in joining them.

Hughton revealed to The Argus at the start of the month plans to sign an established competitor for current No. 1 David Stockdale.

That will pave the way for Christian Walton to be loaned out next season to gain more experience.

Walton is currently on England under-20s duty in the Toulon tournament in France.