Hartlepool United head coach full of praise for West Bromwich Albion loanee as scintillating spell draws to a close

They say to never fall in love with a loan player, but most Pools fans are head over heels for the 21-year-old, who has scored six goals and provided six assists in 19 appearances despite being deployed largely in an unfamiliar wing-back role.

Cleary signed for Pools in January following a frustrating spell at League Two side Walsall, where he found himself limited to a handful of substitute appearances as the Saddlers made a strong start to the season.

Even despite his underwhelming stint in the West Midlands, the winger remained highly thought of at West Brom and headed out on loan again following a brief spell back at The Hawthorns. Almost from the moment of his arrival at the Prestige Group Stadium, Cleary has impressed with his pace, power and purposeful running as well as his attitude and desire, fulfilling his defensive duties with as much enthusiasm as his more natural attacking ones. The youngster has also drawn praise for his approach off the pitch, spending almost an hour signing autographs and posing for photos after scoring a stunning long range goal in March's draw with Eastleigh. Limbrick, like so many other people to have seen him in action over the last few months, has backed the fleet-footed attacker to go on and achieve big things.

In the short term, Cleary is hoping to secure a new contract at West Brom when he returns to The Hawthorns next week. While it remains to be seen whether he has done enough to secure a new deal - although most Pools fans will surely feel the Baggies would be mad not to offer him a contract extension - it seems as though Cleary could well be set for big things. In terms of loan signings, only the likes of Luke Armstrong, Dan Kemp and Tyler Burey can rival the youngster's impressive impact in recent years.

As much as Pools fans would of course love the chance to see more of Cleary in action, Monday's visit of Forest Green Rovers is, barring a miracle, the last time he will pull on a Hartlepool United shirt. For Limbrick, who knows all about the loan market having worked as a manager, head coach and academy coach at the likes of Southampton, West Ham and Peterborough, was full of praise for Cleary as he prepares to call time on his scintillating spell in the North East.

"I've got a lot of experience with loan players in terms of being on both sides of the fence," he said.

"I've been at clubs as a coach when a player is loaned out, working on their development, and I've also been a manager when loan players come in.

"The thing with Reyes is that we don't actually think of him as a loan player, we just think of him as our player who's with us at the moment. I think he genuinely thinks and feels that as well.

"He's come in and been really committed to developing and getting better, improving his own game. He's fitted into the team well, he's very respectful towards all the players, especially the senior players; he really takes on board what they're saying to him.

"He has a really good relationship with Gavin Skelton, they work quite closely together and that's been good. He watches lots of clips, he spends a lot of time on his game and he does lots of little extras. He speaks and thinks about the game regularly.

"He's really brought into the club and the fans, what this place is about. A good example of that was when he ran the length of the pitch to make a tackle against Gateshead, he understands that side of things.

"His stats and numbers have been amazing, especially considering he is playing left-wing-back in a 3-5-2. He's been superb."

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