Former Hartlepool United loanee Nathan Asiimwe signs for League Two leaders Walsall

The versatile 20-year-old spent a month at Pools earlier in the season, making five appearances.

After starting two games and making one late cameo from the bench towards the end of Darren Sarll's tumultuous tenure, Asiimwe came to life under Lennie Lawrence after being moved into a more advanced role on the right of midfield.

Energetic, determined and powerful, Asiimwe impressed against Altrincham and Aldershot as Pools started to show signs of improvement under Lawrence.

He returned to parent-club Charlton in October but Lawrence had hoped to use his connections in South East London, where he spent almost a decade as manager and led the Addicks to the First Division, to lure Asiimwe back to the Prestige Group Stadium.

Despite their best efforts, Asiimwe remained at Charlton, making two further appearances in the EFL Trophy before signing for League Two front-runners Walsall on-loan until the end of the season.

Understandably, the Addicks appear keen to test the promising wing-back at a higher level while Walsall's 3-5-2 formation is the same shape favoured by Charlton boss Nathan Jones.

Asiimwe joins a Saddlers side who are 10 points clear of their nearest rivals and could be set to go straight into the squad for this weekend's game against relegation-threatened Tranmere.

After signing, Asiimwe told Walsall's official club website that he was looking forward to continuing his development in the West Midlands.

"I'm very happy to be here," he said.

"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."

Meanwhile, Walsall head coach Mat Sadler admitted Asiimwe had been on his radar for some time after breaking into the Charlton first team during the 2023/24 campaign.

He said: "I've been aware of Nathan for the past year or so.

"He played lots of games in the 2023/24 season for Charlton in League One and, since then, he's been someone we've watched.

"He's very athletic, he gets up and down, will take on his full-back but can also defend.

"He's versatile, can play both wing-back sides, and that versatility is going to be extremely valuable with the number of games we've got coming up between now and the end of the season."