Albion's club record bid to sign Brazilian midfielder Renato Neto has fallen through at the eleventh hour.

The Seagulls have refused to comment on the reason for the deal collapsing.

The Argus understands Neto failed a medical, due to a knee problem.

Terms had been agreed last night with Neto's Belgian club Gent and the player.

But with so much at stake, Albion could not run the risk of the powerful 25-year-old breaking down in their quest to survive their debut season under Chris Hughton in the Premier League.

They had been tracking Neto for nearly three years, since the early stages of his career with Gent after he joined them from Sporting Lisbon.

The fee agreed with Gent would have eclipsed the record £5.2 million paid to land Australian No. 1 Maty Ryan from Valencia.

Meanwhile, Albion are closing in on adding 21-year-old Norwegian midfielder Mathias Normann from Bodo/Glimt to their development squad.