Coca-Cola Kid poised to sign

The 18-year-old Bury striker will put pen to paper after a lunchtime press conference at Withdean.

A fee had still not been agreed last night, although Albion chairman Dick Knight believes he is on the brink of reaching an agreement with Bury for the services of the highly-rated young striker.

As revealed in yesterday's City Final edition of The Argus, Albion are using some of the £250,000 won for them last month by fan Aaron Berry in a competition organised by Football League sponsors Coca-Cola.

Kazim-Richards was in Brighton yesterday with his agent and father for final talks with Knight and Albion manager Mark McGhee and he has already passed a medical.

Knight revealed: "He is definitely a Brighton player.

"We have dotted the i's and crossed the t's and he is coming in to sign the contract.

"This is a very exciting player we have landed in the face of competition from Wigan, Leicester and Stoke. It is a real coup to get him."

Knight spent last night trying to thrash out a deal with the Bury board. He said: "I think I am now close to reaching an agreement with the Bury directors.

"We have made good progress towards what we are prepared to pay and we are trying to avoid going to a transfer tribunal."

Kazim-Richards has rejected a new two-year deal with Bury but the League Two outfit are entitled to a fee under the Bosman ruling because of his age.

Albion have been tracking him for months since he was recommended by one of their scouts in the north-east after playing for Bury in a youth match against Middlesbrough.

The Seagulls regard him in the same mould as Bobby Zamora, the goal-scoring legend they snapped up as a raw youngster for £100,000 from Bristol Rovers Reserves before he went on to make big money moves to Spurs and West Ham.

Knight said: "I don't want to make undue comparisons with Bobby, because that would be unfair on Colin and put too much pressure on him, but I get the same sort of feeling about him.

"He is a real prospect and it is our job to bring him on.

"He is coming here because he thinks it gives him the best chance to progress and he is confident, with Mark being a former striker himself, that he is going to receive great guidance.

"He knows he definitely has a chance of being in our team next season. That is why he chose us.

"He is raw but has real potential and I am delighted we have got him."

Meanwhile, Jason Dodd revealed today how Albion fought off interest from a couple of Championship rivals to make him their first signing of the summer.

The former Southampton captain ignored his agent's advice to play a waiting game by joining the Seagulls yesterday on a one-year contract.

Dodd, 34, was also a target for Plymouth, where he played four matches on loan in April, and Cardiff, where former Southampton boss Dave Jones is now in charge.

The persuasive powers of McGhee and Knight convinced the versatile defender to make a quick decision.

Dodd said: "The fella that looks after me said there's no rush to make a decision but Mark came and met me in Southampton.

"We chatted for an hour over a coffee and he outlined his plans. I then came down and met the chairman and I was really excited.

"I could have waited another two or three weeks to see what happened but I felt really comfortable.

"I also spoke to Alan Blayney (Southampton keeper), who was down here on loan at the end of last season, and he said they are a fantastic bunch of lads.

"That was all I needed to know really and then it took 20 minutes just to sort a contract out. I felt this is where I wanted to come and enjoy my football, so I made a decision straight away.

"It's an hour and 15 minutes from home just outside of Southampton. It means I can stay down three or four times a week and then still get home, so it's perfect. I've been very lucky."

McGhee consulted his close friend Gordon Strachan, the ex-Southampton manager now in charge at Celtic, about Dodd. He has been signed both as a potential replacement for Leeds-bound Dan Harding and cover for the injured Adam Hinshelwood.

"I was going to bring Jason here on loan before the transfer deadline last season because of his utility value," McGhee said.

"I have seen him play at centre half and rightback but Gordon was adamant he can also play at leftback and that is where he played for Plymouth.

"That was the attraction for me, one player who can cover several positions. He has also played as a sweeper, so he gives me lots of options.

"He has the reputation of being a top class pro as well, really good around the camp.

"We have only given him a year because with someone of his age fitness is always going to be a question. He's had a knee problem, so we are going to have to manage him properly."

Dodd was released by Harry Redknapp at the end of last season after 399 League appearances in 16 years at Southampton.

"I want to play football, it's as simple as that," he said. "I didn't want to finish my career only playing seven or eight games for Southampton last season.

"This is a nice new challenge for me. I'm hoping to get in the side to start with, that's the first thing.

"I don't know any of the lads down here, which will be a wee bit strange, but when I went to Plymouth I settled in very well.

"The lads will be sussing me out and I'll be sussing them out, but the first priority is to get fit and settle in with the rest of the players."

Dodd meets his new team-mates for the first time tomorrow, when the players report back for the start of pre-season training.

Albion's home game against McGhee's old club Millwall on New Year's Eve is now a 1pm kick-off. The first round Carling Cup tie against Shrewsbury takes place at Gay Meadow on Tuesday August 23 (7.45).