Albion are keeping Mark Waddington on their radar after missing out with a bid to buy the Blackpool midfield prospect on transfer deadline day.

The Seagulls made two offers for the highly-rated teenager and were prepared to pay in the region of £100,000 to secure his signature.

Blackpool turned them down but Albion will maintain their interest in the 18-year-old, who came off the bench against them in the closing stages of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Bloomfield Road.

Waddington starred in the FA Cup for Blackpool against Aston Villa last month.

He refused to sign a professional contract with the Championship’s bottom club, which prompted chairman Karl Oyston to order manager Lee Clark not to use him for the recent match against Millwall.

Waddington would go into the development group, rather than straight into the first team at Albion, as they try to build for the future as well as the immediate task of preserving their Championship status.

There were no confirmed additions to Chris Hughton’s squad approaching the January transfer window deadline last night as The Argus went to press. Hughton wants another wide man and Albion were linked with a loan move for QPR’s 33-year-old former Chelsea, Manchester City and England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The player’s representative claimed interest in his client from the Seagulls but was not expecting a deal to happen.

The deadline for permanent transfers closed at 11pm but the loan window re-opens next Tuesday.