ALBION have been begged by Scunthorpe to let Matt Sparrow rejoin them on loan.

The League One strugglers are keen to land the out-of-favour midfielder but admit they are trying to borrow him on the cheap.

Boss Brian Laws, who has just returned to Glanford Park for a second spell, said: “It’s the very early stages.

“I’ve spoken to Gus Poyet on a couple of occasions. Again, I’ve thrown my begging hat in and am hoping we get something from it, only time will tell.

“We are really begging but unfortunately that’s the word that’s most appropriate – to the degree that we’re asking somebody to do something for next to nothing.

“A lot of finances at football clubs are under strain and the last thing clubs want to do is loan a player out of decent calibre who they can probably, from another club, get some money for.

“They’re a little bit reluctant, let’s say that. Whilst you can have all the positive notes from the manager, until we actually get the green light from the chief executive at Brighton we’ll have to wait and see. We’ve got a lot of talking to do, that’s for sure.”

Sparrow, 29, joined Albion in 2010 after 11 years at Scunthorpe. Poyet told him at the start of the season he did not feature in his first team plans.

Meanwhile, Albion’s 19-year-old striker Ben Dickenson could make his Football League debut in opposition to former Seagulls chief Mark McGhee after agreeing a one-month loan move to Chesterfield.

The Spireites, who visit McGhee’s Bristol Rovers tomorrow, have seen off fierce competition from clubs in the lower divisions for Dickenson, who made his comeback from ankle trouble as a substitute in Albion’s development squad on Monday night.