Hartlepool United goalkeeper Brad Young leaves Pools after being recalled from loan by parent club Leicester City

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Hartlepool United goalkeeper Brad Young has been recalled from his loan by parent club Leicester City, Pools have confirmed.

The 22-year-old made 12 appearances and kept four successive home clean sheets during his time at the Prestige Group Stadium but lost his place to Adam Smith in December.

Young came through the ranks at Pools, signing his first professional deal under Craig Hignett in 2019, before swapping the North East for the East Midlands after attracting the attention of Leicester.

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Having developed in Leicester's youth teams, Young returned to Pools at the end of August. The 2023/24 season had been a difficult one in-between the sticks for Pools, with neither Joel Dixon, a former National League winner with Barrow, nor Harrogate Town loanee Pete Jameson doing enough to nail down the number one spot. Pools had been linked with a move for Young all summer but it seemed as though the interest had cooled when then-manager Darren Sarll signed the experienced Adam Smith, who he knew from their time together at Yeovil, following a successful trial period.

Young made 12 appearances during his time at Pools but lost his place to Adam Smith in December. Picture by Frank Reid.Young made 12 appearances during his time at Pools but lost his place to Adam Smith in December. Picture by Frank Reid.
Young made 12 appearances during his time at Pools but lost his place to Adam Smith in December. Picture by Frank Reid.

However Pools managed to reignite the deal and bring Young back to the Prestige Group Stadium on August 31. Although Joel Dixon, who started the first six games of the campaign as Sarll's first choice, was ruled out through injury after he was forced off in the first half of the goalless draw against Braintree, Young had to wait almost a month before he was handed his debut.

When it came, he impressed against Forest Green Rovers and looked set to establish himself as the club's first choice for the remainder of the season. However, Young went on to endure some difficult moments, making mistakes against Altrincham, York and Solihull Moors. He kept four clean sheets in a row at home, making a superb late save against the National League's leading scorers Barnet in November.

Even so, Young lost his place to the more experienced Adam Smith, who impressed with his command of his area in an FA Trophy clash against Tamworth, in December and had been an unused substitute in all of the last eight league games.

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With Young now returning to the King Power Stadium and reuniting with fellow former Pools loanee Jakub Stolarczyk, who has made six Premier League appearances for the Foxes this term, it's unclear whether Pools will look to recruit a new goalkeeper. Adam Smith has been in superb form of late and signed a new contract to keep him at the Prestige Group Stadium until the end of next season last month while Joel Dixon, who showed encouraging signs of improvement at the start of the campaign, is nearing a return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

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