BRIGHTON & Hove Albion remain keen to sign Shane Duffy before the transfer window closes – as Blackburn Rovers boss Owen Coyle continues his efforts to bolster his injury-hit squad.

The high-flying Seagulls had a bid for Rovers defender Duffy turned down earlier in the summer.

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But it is understood they are still trying to broker a deal with their Championship rivals for the centre-back.

Duffy is in the final 12 months of his three-year Rovers contract and has so far rejected the club’s attempts to tie him down to fresh terms.

The 24-year-old returned to Coyle’s starting line-up on Tuesday after scoring two own goals before being sent off in the 2-1 defeat at Cardiff City.

And Duffy went from zero to hero as he headed in at the right end to seal a 4-3 EFL Cup second-round win over Crewe Alexandra.

But Coyle has told the Republic of Ireland international he has room for improvement going into Saturday’s home clash with Fulham.

“Shane was really down because he never went out to score those own goals and play poorly,” said Coyle.

“I told him to take a few days with his family, recharge the batteries, and have a good think about how he can move forward with his game.

“He came in on Monday with a smile on his face, we had a good chat, and I felt he was ready to go (against Crewe).

“Of course there would have been a little bit of an edge to him and I didn’t think he had his best game in the world.

“But I thought he showed a lot of character and to pop up with the winner showed he’s got that commitment to do everything he can while he’s at Blackburn Rovers.”

The transfer window closes at 11pm on Wednesday and Coyle is determined to have added to his ranks before then.

He is running the rule over a number of defenders including Lens’ 6ft 7in centre-back Abdoul Ba.

It is understood Rovers have made bids for the Mauritanian international, who is said to be keen to move to Ewood Park, and that negotiations were continuing yesterday.

Coyle is also chasing a left-back and has not ruled out the possibility of bringing in a midfielder or attacker.

However he was impressed by the performance Danny Guthrie produced as a second-half substitute against Crewe.

Midfielder Guthrie helped inspire Rovers’ comeback after failing to make it off the bench in the first five games of the campaign.

“Danny Guthrie is a player who has worked very hard in pre-season and played a number of games in pre-season,” said Coyle, who was without five first-team players through injury on Tuesday.

“He’s similar in many ways to young Jack Byrne, and that’s why we made the change.

“Danny has been very patient, waiting for his chance, and I felt he did very well and took it.

“So all credit to him because he showed a real desire. It would have been easy for him to feel sorry for himself and say, ‘I’ve not had my chance’, but he came in and showed a real desire to be in the team.

“He can pick a pass, we know that, and I thought him and Hope (Akpan) actually worked very well together.”