Shane McFaul, born in Dublin on May 23, 1986, is a footballer currently playing with Eircom League side UCD AFC.
He has also played for the Virginia Beach Mariners.
He made his Ireland under-21 debut in a friendly game against Germany on 21st August 2007. He was an unused sub in the U21 European Championship Qualifying games against Portugal and England.
He is on the verge of a move to an English League One Club.
Albion have agreed a deal to sign 21-year-old Irish prospect Shane McFaul from Eircom Premier side University College Dublin.
The highly-rated Republic of Ireland under-21 international will sign on a free transfer until the end of the season, after Dick Knight completed negotiations with the player's advisors this week.
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A 6ft 1in attacking midfielder, McFaul began his career at Notts County in 2003 when he burst into the first team aged just 17 years old.
He made over 30 appearances for the Magpies before moving to US A League side Virginia Beach Mariners at the end of the 2004/05 season.
The midfielder, who has represented the Republic of Ireland at every level from under-14 to under-21, returned to his native Dublin last year to link up with UCD.
He has been watched by chief scout Barry Lloyd on several occasions and spent time on trial with the Seagulls before Christmas.
McFaul will fly into Gatwick on Sunday before linking up with his new team-mates for training on Monday. He's is expected to feature in next week's reserve team game at Leyton Orient and will be available for selection for the home match with Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Albion chairman Knight expects a decision next week from Matt Richards on the club's offer of an extended loan deal.
Albion have agreed terms with Ipswich to bring the defender back to Brighton until the end of the season, and have asked Richards - who has been ill this week - to make a decision by early next week.
Knight is also confident of adding further new faces during the January transfer window. He told seagulls.co.uk, "It is a slow process at this feeding frenzy time for football agents, but we are making progress on a number of fronts."
I'm delighted by that. Look what the likes of Kevin Doyle have done at Reading. Also he is an attacking midfielder; something we have being crying out for.
You deserve a pat on the back. Maybe some of the f*king moaners will leave off a little now. Showing he is trying to do something for the good of the club.