Oliver Oliver Norwood goes blonde in the hairy promotion race for Brighton and Hove Albion

Oliver Norwood returned from international duty with Northern Ireland with his hair dyed blonde.

The midfielder's new look caught the eye during the pre-match kickabout with the rest of the subs and brought a smile to the face of former Manchester United team-mate Wes Brown (above).

The pair remained on the bench as Albion edged past Brown's Blackburn Rovers 1-0 to strengthen their automatic promotion hopes.

Norwood played 90 minutes for Northern Ireland in the home win over Norway during the international break.

The summer signing from Reading (below) made the last of his 15 Championship starts for the Seagulls in early February after becoming a dad and in the face of central midfield competition from Beram Kayal, Dale Stephens and Steve Sidwell.