Albion are Keane to Judge wisely as they prepare to finalise their assault on the Premier League.

Veteran goal-grabber Robbie Keane and Brentford’s attacking midfielder Alan Judge have both been on their radar.

But Keane is not currently a top target and Judge’s injury troubles have ruled out any immediate move during the January transfer window.

Republic of Ireland marksman Keane has left LA Galaxy after six seasons in America.

The 36-year-old ex-Liverpool and Inter Milan striker, familiar to Albion boss Chris Hughton from his time at Spurs, is not ready to hang up his boots yet.

Judge was seen by the Seagulls as an alternative for the No.10 role when they tried to land Alex Pritchard from Spurs in the summer, only for Norwich to nip in at the eleventh hour.

The Argus:

The 28-year-old, also a Republic of Ireland international, scored 14 goals for Brentford in the Championship, despite his season being curtailed by a broken leg in April.

Judge, linked as well with Albion’s promotion rivals Newcastle United, is still trying to regain full fitness and remains several weeks away from first team action for the Bees.

Albion, down to three recognised strikers, want to add another attacker to the squad as competition and cover for Glenn Murray, Sam Baldock and Tomer Hemed.

Hughton, who has made Kazenga LuaLua, Rohan Ince and Rob Hunt available for loan moves, said: “It’s always a very difficult one in January and you’ll probably find that most business is done later in the window.

“That’s because generally clubs are waiting to see players they want to bring in. If we bring the player we want to bring in, then we’ll let X player go and so on.

“It’s always better to do it earlier in the window than the latter part, but generally it tends not to be the case.”

 

Meanwhile, Albion have received no bids so far for their table-topping stars after rejecting big offers in the summer for Anthony Knockaert, Dale Stephens and Lewis Dunk.

Hughton said: “We haven’t had any. It’s very early in the window and the phone has only just started to ring and the texts are starting to come through.

“But the club has showed, and in particular the chairman, we want to keep all our best players and any offers for any of our players is very much part and parcel of the game and probably a consequence of where we are at the moment.

“These things never phase us and you have to deal with them in the appropriate manner.”