Albion have delivered a late triple transfer whammy to their Championship rivals – making it FOUR arrivals on deadline day.

The Seagulls added free-scoring Swansea striker Stephen Dobbie to their squad last night.

They also landed right-sided midfielder David Lopez from Spanish La Liga club Athletic Bilbao.

And they completed a dramatic hat-trick just before the 11pm close of the transfer window by bringing former captain and midfielder Dean Hammond back to the club on loan from Southampton.

The signing of Andrea Orlandi, another Spanish midfielder from Swansea, was also confirmed by the club earlier in the day in an unprecedented last-gasp flurry of business.

Orlandi is the only member of the quartet who can play at Burnley today.

The 5ft 8in Dobbie does not fit the criteria of the target man Albion have been searching for but he has a tremendous goalscoring record and is proven in the Championship.

Albion have signed him on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, beating off competition from Blackpool, Middlesbrough and today’s opponents Burnley.

Boss Gus Poyet said: “He is a quality striker, who will complement our existing forwards and give us different attacking options.

"He has great quality which will unlock defences and I have no doubt he will also score plenty of goals.

"He has played and proven himself at this level and in the Premier League. His goals helped Blackpool win promotion in 2010 and he returned on loan to help them reach the play-off final last season."

Glaswegian Dobbie, 29, scored 26 goals from 48 starts for Swansea and Blackpool, including six in ten in a second loan stint with Blackpool last season to help them reach the Championship play-off final.

Lopez, also 29, has moved to Albion in a one-year deal after leaving Bilbao by mutual consent.

He has made more than 150 appearances in La Liga for Osasuna and Bilbao, who bought him for six million euros in 2007.

Poyet said: "He is technically very gifted and has great ability.

"He is a right-sided midfielder and gives us another option. Ultimately he is going to bring extra quality to the squad and a different attacking midfield option."

The return of Hammond on a one-year loan, after skippering Southampton to promotion to the Premier League last season, adds further strength and steel to Albion's engine room.