ALBION are set to swoop for Norway international Vegard Forren as centre-half back-up.

The 29-year-old free agent is on the Seagulls' list of options to compensate for the absences of Shane Duffy through injury until April and Connor Goldson, sidelined for the rest of the season by a heart scare.

Forren appeared poised to sign for Norwegian champions Rosenborg ahead of the domestic season starting in April, after two spells with Molde spanning ten years in total.

But he is keen to return to England following a fruitless stint with Southampton four years ago and has also attracted interest from Leeds and Aston Villa.

Forren's £4 million switch to Saints coincided with Mauricio Pochettino replacing Nigel Adkins as manager.

He scored on his debut for the under-21s but never featured for the first team before returning six months later to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-managed Molde for an undisclosed fee.