Chris Wood hopes for long Brighton stay

Teenage Albion striker Chris Wood is hoping to extend his loan stint with League One high-flyers Brighton.

Teenage Albion striker Chris Wood is hoping to extend his loan stint with League One high-flyers Brighton.

Wood joined the Seagulls last month as part of his efforts to gain more first-team experience.

But it has been a tale of frustration so far for the 19-year-old with the big freeze causing postponements and he was also ineligible for Brighton's home FA Cup tie against FC United of Manchester.

His loan deal expires after the trip to Exeter on January 3 but the New Zealand striker said: "I'd love to stay. I've settled in well here and I like the club tremendously.

"I'm happy to keep talking to them and hopefully extend that, probably with another loan until the end of the season or whenever they would like."

Wood was loaned to Barnsley earlier in the season but that move was cut short because of his lack of playing time.

And the Kiwi, who played in the World Cup in South Africa in the summer, revealed the Baggies are keeping tabs on his progress. He added: "West Brom are watching me. They came to the Southampton game.

"They keep the advice coming but I'm sure they will be happy to keep me down here."

Brighton boss Gus Poyet is also keen on extending Wood's stay, although he would like to see him play a few more games before hammering out a deal.

Poyet said: "I can talk to Roberto (Di Matteo) any time but my idea was to keep Chris longer.

"I would like to see him have five, six or seven games with us but it has been difficult with the postponements and the FA Cup. Remember, I wanted Chris in the summer so we could do pre-season with him. He had four or five Championship teams after him so we didn't get anywhere but then we were lucky when things did not work out for him at Barnsley.

"We'll wait and see when he has played a few more games. Then maybe we can talk and he can tell me if he still wants to stay."