Albion could lose on-loan Arsenal front man Graham Barrett to Division One rivals Preston North End.

They have made an offer to the Gunners for Bobby Zamora's strike partner and the deal may go through next week.

Preston are in danger of being sucked into the relegation battle after five straight defeats, so boss Craig Brown is frantically strengthening his squad.

The former Scotland coach has just signed 20-year-old Celtic forward Simon Lynch to replace cruciate ligament victim Ricardo Fuller and also Celtic goalkeeper Jonathan Gould on a one-and-a-half year deal.

Brown has now turned his attention to Barrett.

The industrious Republic of Ireland international joined Albion on loan from Arsenal in August.

His move was recently extended to the rest of the season following talks with the Gunners over a new deal when his current contract at Highbury expires in the summer.

Barrett has been restricted to 13 appearances for Albion by a combination of suspension, injuries, unavailability and international duty.

He was sent-off on his debut at Portsmouth and returned to the attack last month alongside Zamora after knee ligament damage sidelined him for four weeks.

Barrett scored his only goal for Albion so far in Steve Coppell's first match in charge, the 4-2 home defeat by Sheffield United in October.

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