Hartlepool United defender Aaron Cunningham rejoins National League North side Blyth Spartans on season long loan

The 22-year-old centre-back featured 11 times for Pools last season with injury issues limiting his impact before he joined Spartans back in February.

And after signing a new deal at Victoria Park over the summer, Cunningham has returned to Croft Park for the duration of the 2020-21 campaign. He will play under the management of Hartlepool legend Michael Nelson in the sixth tier.

Defender Ryan Johnson’s arrival last week opened up a loan opportunity for Cunningham.

Hartlepool manager Dave Challinor previously told The Mail: "I’ve had an honest conversation with Aaron and told him it’s important that he uses the opportunity to stake his claim.

“We’ve had a chat and we’re on the same page in terms of this year he needs to play, 30-35 games and if he couldn’t do that with us then we’d make sure he got those games somewhere on loan.”

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