Albion are weighing up whether to make a bid for Crawley defender Jake Wright.

Manager Russell Slade met with chairman Tony Bloom last night to discuss the urgent need for a left-back.

Wright impressed in that role and at centre half in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Torquay.

Crawley are thought to have already rejected bids of £70,000 from Colchester and £100,000 from Charlton for the highly-rated 23-year-old.

Slade believes Saturday’s visit to Championship newcomers Scunthorpe will round off Albion’s pre-season preparations perfectly after the Torquay trip.

“That was worth the long journey, because I knew we were going to get a tempo and a proper football match,” he said. “One or two players have nailed down a slot and one or two showed their limitations, so from a manager's point of view I learned a lot.

“Scunthorpe is another tough one and they will play with a tempo, like Torquay, although maybe not quite as direct.

“They will get the ball down and you have to switch on quickly and work hard. We pinpointed these two games and you won’t get a better workout than by going to Torquay and Scunthorpe.”