Albion's interest in re-signing Glenn Murray has been dampened – because they can only land him on an emergency loan.

The Seagulls cannot buy Murray or borrow him for the rest of the season, due to rules restricting the number of clubs a player can play for.

Murray has already represented parent club Crystal Palace in the current campaign and Reading on a long-term loan.

Albion could only sign him on a short-term loan, narrowing the period he would be available to them.

They would only be able to keep hold of him for a maximum of 93 days and Palace would have the right of recall after 28 days.

It means Albion are looking elsewhere in their quest to capture a goalscoring centre-forward replacement for Darren Bent during the January transfer window.

Meanwhile, boss Chris Hughton is keeping an open mind about the future of Chris O’Grady following his first goal for Albion as a substitute at Brentford last Saturday.

Sheffield United want to borrow O’Grady back this month or buy him.

Hughton said: “He has been able to make an impact and right at this moment he’s very important to us but, as always, you’re still trying to evaluate the squad.

“He would probably be in no different position than most players and it’s a nice position for me. We’ve got a lot of players and some have come back from injury that are fighting for places.”