The January transfer window is open, which means the Championship promotion race is about to hot up.
Clubs chasing Premier League riches will be strengthening their squads for a big push in the second half of the season.
Injury-hit Albion are no exception. They are likely to make at least two more signings this month in a bid to secure automatic promotion or a place in the play-offs.
1. Goals win games and promotions.
The number one priority is the same as it has been for months, to sign a free-scoring striker.
Everybody wants one, so they are a) not easy to land without seeing off fierce competition and b) not cheap.
Albion tried to sign Argentinian Jonathan Calleri in August. They have maintained a strong interest in the Boca Juniors marksman.
Calleri has been constantly linked with Inter Milan and top clubs in England, including Chelsea and Arsenal. The Argus understands many of those reports have been speculative and wide of the mark.
Calleri was not the only South American striker Albion looked at when head of recruitment Paul Winstanley and chief executive Paul Barber made trips to Buenos Aires last year.
The Seagulls have also been strongly linked with Ecuador's Miller Bolanos. They have, it has been claimed, lodged a club record £7.3 million bid with his club Emelec. A well-placed Argus source says this is untrue.
Tony Scholes, Stoke City's chief executive, highlighted at the weekend one of the major difficulties faced with signings from South America - who owns the player?
A former young South American target for the Premier League club arrived with 17 agents! They are complicated deals which are difficult to pull off.
Albion no longer place all their eggs in one basket. The recruitment team assembles lists of targets they regard to be of similar calibre. The striker list contains domestic targets as well.
There are delicate balances to consider. A lot of work went into securing James Wilson on loan from Manchester United for the season.
There are no guarantees but there will be an expectation from United that Wilson figures prominently in Albion's first team plans.
If the Seagulls went for a striker of similar profile, ie a young prospect from the Premier League, that could unsettle Wilson's situation.
Albion need extra firepower. They have currently gone 6hrs 35mins without a goal.
Tomer Hemed is top scorer with only six. Bobby Zamora is one behind from far less game time but the Seagulls are unlikely to be using him for 90 minutes too often and Chris Hughton, on the evidence so far, does not have much faith just yet in Elvis Manu.
2. Try to wing it with one proper wide man and Albion won't have a prayer.
The wingers are a key part of the 4-4-2 formation Hughton prefers. Penetration is needed down the flanks.
They have been desperately unlucky with injuries. Kazenga LuaLua, on fire at the start of the season, has been out since September.
He will be back soon but will he get through the rest of the season unscathed?
Solly March was also in peak form before suffering serious knee damage last month which has ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.
Dutchman Rajiv van La Parra did okay on loan from Wolves. Albion retain an interest in re-hiring him on the same basis.
Van La Parra's future lies away from Molineux but they may prefer to sell rather than loan again.
That makes any deal involving van La Parra more likely to happen towards the end, rather than the beginning, of the window.
Albion might already have looked elsewhere by then. They have been linked with Arsenal's Serge Gnabry, recalled from a season-long loan at West Brom where he played only 12 minutes in the Premier League.
Gnabry has been on the radar but he is only 20 and not quite what Ablion are looking for at this moment to supplement the busy Jamie Murphy, who does not go past defenders as often as LuaLua or March.
3. Midfield back-up for Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens.
This is a tricky one. Albion have lots of central midfielders but the influential pairing of Kayal and Stephens have been Hughton's clear picks all season.
What happens if one or both are injured or suspended? The answer was provided by a sterile 0-0 draw at home to struggling Preston in October.
There is no room for a No.10 in a 4-4-2 but the system can be amended to a 4-4-1-1 or even 4-2-3-1, which has become increasingly popular.
Much will depend on a quick assessment of whether Richie Towell, outstanding at a lower level in the League of Ireland, can adjust quickly to the demands of the Championship to be considered instant first team material.
There are three more important League games for Albion in January while the window is open, away to Rotherham next Tuesday, at Blackburn four days later and at home to Huddersfield on the 23rd.
That is nine more precious points up for grabs and we have seen, to their detriment over the Christmas period, how rapidly the table can change.
4. Up for the Cup or out of the Cup.
It will make a difference to fringe players whether Albion go through in the third round of the FA Cup at Hull on Saturday or go out.
Hughton has already made plain his priority is the League. Several players will be rested for the Hull tie, giving an opportunity to those on the fringes.
The fourth round of the FA Cup takes place on the last weekend in January, just before the window closes.
If Albion make an instant exit at the KC Stadium then the likes of Jake Forster-Caskey, Danny Holla, Rohan Ince and Adam Chicksen will be kicking their heels again without the prospect of much game time.
This will be of particular concern to England under-21 international Forster-Caskey, who has already been out on loan to MK Dons.
5. Rea of hope, or one Albion can afford to let go.
Albion must decide what to do about Glen Rea during the January window.
Southend, where he has just spent the last five months, want the versatile Republic of Ireland prospect back, either on loan or permanently.
Southend boss Phil Brown has spoken publicly about offering him a two-and-a-half-year deal, a bit cheeky considering he is Albion's player and a bit odd given that Brown has only used Rea sparingly in the starting line-up and has several centre-halves.
Both Albion, in the under-21s, and Southend have also deployed Rea as a deep-lying midfielder. Distribution limitations suggest his future is more as a central defender.
He faces plenty of competition in that position at Albion - Gordon Greer, Lewis Dunk, Uwe Huenemeier, Connor Goldson.
On the other hand, the Seagulls have arguably let go other products of the youth system of similar ilk too soon in the past (Steve Cook, Grant Hall).
Original article
Clubs chasing Premier League riches will be strengthening their squads for a big push in the second half of the season.
Injury-hit Albion are no exception. They are likely to make at least two more signings this month in a bid to secure automatic promotion or a place in the play-offs.
1. Goals win games and promotions.
The number one priority is the same as it has been for months, to sign a free-scoring striker.
Everybody wants one, so they are a) not easy to land without seeing off fierce competition and b) not cheap.
Albion tried to sign Argentinian Jonathan Calleri in August. They have maintained a strong interest in the Boca Juniors marksman.
Calleri has been constantly linked with Inter Milan and top clubs in England, including Chelsea and Arsenal. The Argus understands many of those reports have been speculative and wide of the mark.
Calleri was not the only South American striker Albion looked at when head of recruitment Paul Winstanley and chief executive Paul Barber made trips to Buenos Aires last year.
The Seagulls have also been strongly linked with Ecuador's Miller Bolanos. They have, it has been claimed, lodged a club record £7.3 million bid with his club Emelec. A well-placed Argus source says this is untrue.
Tony Scholes, Stoke City's chief executive, highlighted at the weekend one of the major difficulties faced with signings from South America - who owns the player?
A former young South American target for the Premier League club arrived with 17 agents! They are complicated deals which are difficult to pull off.
Albion no longer place all their eggs in one basket. The recruitment team assembles lists of targets they regard to be of similar calibre. The striker list contains domestic targets as well.
There are delicate balances to consider. A lot of work went into securing James Wilson on loan from Manchester United for the season.
There are no guarantees but there will be an expectation from United that Wilson figures prominently in Albion's first team plans.
If the Seagulls went for a striker of similar profile, ie a young prospect from the Premier League, that could unsettle Wilson's situation.
Albion need extra firepower. They have currently gone 6hrs 35mins without a goal.
Tomer Hemed is top scorer with only six. Bobby Zamora is one behind from far less game time but the Seagulls are unlikely to be using him for 90 minutes too often and Chris Hughton, on the evidence so far, does not have much faith just yet in Elvis Manu.
2. Try to wing it with one proper wide man and Albion won't have a prayer.
The wingers are a key part of the 4-4-2 formation Hughton prefers. Penetration is needed down the flanks.
They have been desperately unlucky with injuries. Kazenga LuaLua, on fire at the start of the season, has been out since September.
He will be back soon but will he get through the rest of the season unscathed?
Solly March was also in peak form before suffering serious knee damage last month which has ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.
Dutchman Rajiv van La Parra did okay on loan from Wolves. Albion retain an interest in re-hiring him on the same basis.
Van La Parra's future lies away from Molineux but they may prefer to sell rather than loan again.
That makes any deal involving van La Parra more likely to happen towards the end, rather than the beginning, of the window.
Albion might already have looked elsewhere by then. They have been linked with Arsenal's Serge Gnabry, recalled from a season-long loan at West Brom where he played only 12 minutes in the Premier League.
Gnabry has been on the radar but he is only 20 and not quite what Ablion are looking for at this moment to supplement the busy Jamie Murphy, who does not go past defenders as often as LuaLua or March.
3. Midfield back-up for Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens.
This is a tricky one. Albion have lots of central midfielders but the influential pairing of Kayal and Stephens have been Hughton's clear picks all season.
What happens if one or both are injured or suspended? The answer was provided by a sterile 0-0 draw at home to struggling Preston in October.
There is no room for a No.10 in a 4-4-2 but the system can be amended to a 4-4-1-1 or even 4-2-3-1, which has become increasingly popular.
Much will depend on a quick assessment of whether Richie Towell, outstanding at a lower level in the League of Ireland, can adjust quickly to the demands of the Championship to be considered instant first team material.
There are three more important League games for Albion in January while the window is open, away to Rotherham next Tuesday, at Blackburn four days later and at home to Huddersfield on the 23rd.
That is nine more precious points up for grabs and we have seen, to their detriment over the Christmas period, how rapidly the table can change.
4. Up for the Cup or out of the Cup.
It will make a difference to fringe players whether Albion go through in the third round of the FA Cup at Hull on Saturday or go out.
Hughton has already made plain his priority is the League. Several players will be rested for the Hull tie, giving an opportunity to those on the fringes.
The fourth round of the FA Cup takes place on the last weekend in January, just before the window closes.
If Albion make an instant exit at the KC Stadium then the likes of Jake Forster-Caskey, Danny Holla, Rohan Ince and Adam Chicksen will be kicking their heels again without the prospect of much game time.
This will be of particular concern to England under-21 international Forster-Caskey, who has already been out on loan to MK Dons.
5. Rea of hope, or one Albion can afford to let go.
Albion must decide what to do about Glen Rea during the January window.
Southend, where he has just spent the last five months, want the versatile Republic of Ireland prospect back, either on loan or permanently.
Southend boss Phil Brown has spoken publicly about offering him a two-and-a-half-year deal, a bit cheeky considering he is Albion's player and a bit odd given that Brown has only used Rea sparingly in the starting line-up and has several centre-halves.
Both Albion, in the under-21s, and Southend have also deployed Rea as a deep-lying midfielder. Distribution limitations suggest his future is more as a central defender.
He faces plenty of competition in that position at Albion - Gordon Greer, Lewis Dunk, Uwe Huenemeier, Connor Goldson.
On the other hand, the Seagulls have arguably let go other products of the youth system of similar ilk too soon in the past (Steve Cook, Grant Hall).
Original article