All the latest Hartlepool United transfer news as January market hots up

Although National League clubs are not directly impacted by the transfer window and are allowed to make new signings throughout the season, the January market still has a significant bearing on clubs like Hartlepool United.

With sides in the Football League both looking to strengthen their squads and ship players out, Pools and their fellow National League teams are hoping to keep hold of their prize assets like Mani Dieseruvwe and Joe Grey while also seeing whether they can secure deals of their own.

So, here's a look at all the latest transfer news at the Prestige Group Stadium.

Tyler Burey

Pools boss Lennie Lawrence admitted he could "neither confirm nor deny" whether his side were interested in a deal to bring winger Tyler Burey back to the Prestige Group Stadium.

The 23-year-old is set to become a free agent on January 18 when his short term deal at Carlisle comes to an end, with the Cumbrians confirming they were not planning on offering Burey a new contract.

The wideman has spent the last three months at Brunton Park, making 11 appearances and featuring in a variety of different positions, including at wing-back.

Pools fans will be familiar with the talented winger following a blistering loan spell back in 2021.

Burey signed for Pools after the club had won promotion back to the Football League under Dave Challinor and scored three goals in seven games, impressing with his pace, quick feet and determination to take on defenders.

An injury in early September caused Burey to miss four months and, while he made a couple of appearances for Pools after Christmas, he returned to parent-club Millwall in January.

Big things were expected of the winger, who scored two goals in 15 Championship appearances in the second half of that season.

In the following campaign, he played 26 times for the Lions and attracted the attention of Odense Boldklub, signing for the Danish Superliga side in the summer of 2023.

However, he featured just six times before returning to England and signing on-loan for Oxford.

Opportunities were similarly limited at the Kassam Stadium and Burey only managed five appearances during a frustrating six-month spell.

While his failure to make the grade at OB Odense, Oxford or Carlisle have led some to question his attitude, a return to the Prestige Group Stadium for Burey would be a popular move among Pools fans.

Lennie Lawrence suggested his side were in the market for one new face and Pools have looked a little light in wide areas of late, with attacker Adam Campbell out injured and veteran winger Kazenga LuaLua struggling to make much of an impact since his November arrival.

"There will be all manner of names under consideration," he told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"Who actually comes in the door is a separate thing, we'll have to wait and see.

"To use an old-fashioned phrase, I can neither confirm nor deny it."

Nathan Asiimwe

One player who won't be returning to the Prestige Group Stadium this month is Nathan Asiimwe after he signed for League Two leaders Walsall on-loan until the end of the season.

The versatile defender impressed during a month-long spell at the Prestige Group Stadium earlier in the campaign.

Having made three appearances towards the end of Darren Sarll's tumultuous tenure, the 20-year-old came into his own under Lennie Lawrence after the veteran boss moved him into a more advanced role on the right of midfield.

Asiimwe caught the eye against Altrincham and Aldershot and Lawrence admitted he was keen to bring the promising youngster back to the North East following the end of his initial deal.

Pools had hoped that Lawrence could use his standing at Asiimwe's parent-club Charlton, where he spent almost a decade as manager and led the Addicks to the First Division, to lure him back to the Prestige Group Stadium.

However, Asiimwe stayed put at The Valley and remained on the fringes of the first team squad, making just two appearances in the EFL Trophy after returning from his stint at Pools in October.

Asiimwe now heads to a Walsall side who are 10 points clear at the top of League Two and, perhaps importantly from a Charlton perspective, play the same 3-5-2 formation as the Addicks.

"I'm very happy to be here," he told Walsall's official club website.

"It's something I've been looking forward to for a couple of months now so the January window was an opportunity for me and I'm grateful this has landed on my doorstep and I'm ready to attack it.

"The team's been doing really well and it is definitely extra motivation being in and around a dressing room of a team that's really flying at the minute, it's very good for my career and my development as a player to have these experiences so I'm buzzing."

Mani Dieseruvwe and Joe Grey

Meanwhile, Lennie Lawrence admitted that Pools were no closer to agreeing new contracts with Mani Dieseruvwe and Joe Grey.

Between them, the prolific pair have scored 17 of their side's 32 goals this season and rank as among the club's most valuable assets.

However, both now have less than six months left on their current contracts and Pools are understandably eager to get them tied down to new deals.

The club have tabled contract offers and while neither has yet committed their future to Pools, Lawrence remains optimistic about keeping hold of the two influential frontmen.

"There isn't really any update," he told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"They're playing, I'm happy with that.

"In the end, the player will decide what they want to do.

"They've been made offers, it comes as no surprise to me that they've turned them down.

"That's not because they don't want to be associated with Hartlepool, not at all.

"Like all players, they want to see who's going to come in, what might happen.

"They're keeping their options open, that's what players these days do.

"That's fine. As long as they're training properly and performing, we'll worry about that further down the line.

"As a club, we've done what we should've done, we've done the right thing.

"We'll just get on with it until the situation resolves itself."

Kieran Wallace

Lennie Lawrence has revealed he won't stand in Kieran Wallace's way in the event of a potential loan deal for the out of favour midfielder.

The 29-year-old hasn't played a league game for Pools since February 2024 but made a rare appearance in the matchday squad on New Year's Day.

Since signing from Mansfield in the summer of 2023, Wallace has struggled to make his mark at the Prestige Group Stadium, sustaining a string of serious injuries.

Having made just 21 appearances last season, Wallace underwent surgery and captained a young Pools side to defeat in the Durham Challenge Cup in September.

However, he is yet to make a National League appearance for Pools this season and has spent most of the last three months out on loan at Tamworth, where he played six times.

Lawrence restored Wallace to the side during his first spell as caretaker manager but looks less inclined to do the same this time, with the defensive-midfielder an unused substitute on New Year's Day.

The likes of Nathan Sheron, Nicky Featherstone, Jack Hunter and Greg Sloggett all look to be ahead of him in the pecking order and it's possible Wallace has already played his last game for the club.

While Lawrence wouldn't rule out a return to the fold, he admitted he wouldn't stand in Wallace's way if a suitable offer to take him on loan elsewhere is tabled.

"If a loan comes up that's suitable for the club and is suitable for him, then he could well go out on loan again," he said.

"If not, he'll stay, he'll be part of the group, he'll train with us and he'll be used as and when we see fit.

"If a loan comes up and it suits all parties, then that's what we'll do."

Kazenga LuaLua and Matthew Bondswell

Elsewhere, Lennie Lawrence has confirmed that both Kazenga LuaLua and Matthew Bondwell's current contracts are set to run out at the end of this month.

Both men have struggled for opportunities since arriving in the North East in November, making just six substitute appearances in the National League between them.

Veteran winger LuaLua, who turned 34 last month and played more than 150 times for Brighton in his heyday, has made five cameos from the bench but has struggled to make much of an impact.

The former Newcastle man was criticised for his performance in the win over Oldham on New Year's Day while he missed a penalty in the FA Trophy shootout defeat to Tamworth in December.

Bondswell, who arrived as a free agent after spending last season at League Two side Newport, has made just one substitute appearance in the league while he looked solid albeit unspectacular in the FA Trophy clash with the Lambs, his only start to date.

The one thing that might work in Bondswell's favour is that Pools do not have a wealth of options at left-back, with the in-form David Ferguson starting 27 of his side's 28 games so far this season.

However, when the 30-year-old missed September's clash with Rochdale - two months before Bondswell arrived - Pools had no natural replacement for him and were forced to change shape.

While neither man has likely done enough at this stage to be sure of a new deal, Lawrence admitted he was hoping he'd be able to keep the pair.

"They're under contract until the end of January," he told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"If you take somebody, even for the short-term, in my mind if you don't extend that, then it's a disappointment.

"I'm hoping they do enough when they get the opportunity to warrant extending it.

"Whether that will happen or not, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.

"They've been very good in training, they're good lads, good around the place, Kazenga obviously has got a lot of experience. I'm well pleased to have them here.

"How long it lasts, we'll have to wait and see.

"Hopefully, they do enough for me to go to the owner and say, 'I want to extend it'."