Elliott Bennett, heading back to the Premier League with Norwich City, is still on Albion’s radar.

The Seagulls are continuing to monitor Bennett’s situation with yesterday’s Championship play-off final winners.

They were keen to sign him for a third time in January after borrowing the right-winger, a key member of the 2010-11 League One title-winning squad, in November.

Injury-plagued Bennett, who played under Albion boss Chris Hughton at Norwich, was an unused substitute at Wembley as Alex Neil’s Canaries reclaimed top flight status with a 2-0 win against Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile, Chris O’Grady’s hopes of establishing himself in Hughton’s plans at Albion have been boosted by the removal of the manager eager to sign him.

Nigel Clough’s sacking by Sheffield United has increased the chances of O’Grady remaining with the Seagulls when they kick-off in the Championship again in August.

Clough took O’Grady back to South Yorkshire on loan in December. The ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley striker was high on his wish list of summer recruits but Clough paid the price yesterday for the Blades missing out on the League One play-offs, despite steering them to the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup.

O’Grady appeared to be on his way out of Albion when Sami Hyypia was in charge.

The £500,000 buy from Barnsley last summer returned to contention, initially under caretaker Nathan Jones and then Hughton.

Striker reinforcements remain at the forefront of Hughton’s planning for next season.

O’Grady, the injured Sam Baldock and the out-on-loan and out-of-favour Spaniard Adrian Colunga are the only contracted forwards following the unsuccessful loan spell of Leon Best and the release of Craig Mackail-Smith.

O’Grady, rotated by Hughton with Best and Mackail-Smith in the second half of the season, marred some forceful performances with a goal return of a solitary penalty in 28 Championship appearances.