Hartlepool United interim manager Nicky Featherstone hoping Hull City loanee Pharrell Brown can "come in and make a difference" following "promising" Pools debut
Hartlepool United's interim manager Nicky Featherstone is hoping new signing Pharrell Brown can "come in and make a difference" following a "promising" debut during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wealdstone.
The 20-year-old winger, who arrived on a short-term loan deal from Championship side Hull over the weekend, made his Pools debut as a late substitute as Featherstone's side extended their unbeaten run to five matches against an in-form Stones outfit.
Pools have been short of options in wide areas of late, with Luke Charman having missed the last three matches through bone bruising on his foot while Jermaine Francis spent the weekend away on international duty with Grenada, captaining the Spice Boys in the second half as they thumped the US Virgin Islands 4-1.
With Pools lacking options on the flanks, Featherstone has turned to a resurgent Adam Campbell as well as Matty Daly to operate in attack; while Campbell, who has scored twice in his last three games and produced a man of the match performance at the weekend, in particular has impressed in the role, it's no surprise Featherstone has looked to give himself another option out wide.
The 37-year-old, who has been in temporary charge of Pools for more than a month, has made good use of his contacts at hometown club Hull to secure the signing of the young winger.
Featherstone, who was born in Goole, still lives in Hull and began his career with the Tigers, has a close relationship with loans manager Andy Dawson, while he also played with assistant head coach Dean Holden at Walsall.
The veteran midfielder, who has spent more than a decade at Victoria Park and is the club's third highest appearance-maker of all-time, put those relationships to good use at the weekend to secure the loan signing of Brown, who had been impressing in Hull's under-21s side.
The 20-year-old spent time in Manchester United's academy before progressing through the ranks at Fleetwood, scoring three crucial goals in the Lancashire side's memorable run to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup in 2023.
Brown, who spent a brief spell on loan at Northern Premier League Division One West side Clitheroe during his time at Highbury Stadium, made a handful of senior appearances for Fleetwood's first team, making his debut during a thumping 5-2 win over Accrington Stanley towards the end of the 2022/23 League One season before featuring in an emphatic 4-0 Football League Trophy win over Leicester's under-21s.
The youngster completed a move to Hull in July 2024 and while he's still to make his senior debut in East Yorkshire, Brown arrives with a reputation as an exciting winger with bags of potential.
Certainly, Pools fans will be hoping he can make a similar impact to fellow Hull loanee Harvey Cartwright, who kept a remarkable seven clean sheets in 13 games before an injury cut short his time at Victoria Park.
"I played with Andy Dawson, who is the loans manager at Hull, for a very long time," Featherstone told The Red Radio.
"We played together for five years and I shared rooms with him on away trips, so I've got a good relationship with Hull and Andy Dawson personally.
"I know the assistant manager (Dean Holden) at Hull as well, I played with him at Walsall for two years.
"It's just diving into those connections you have in the football world and hopefully Phaz (Pharrell Brown) can come in and make a difference, he looked really sharp today (Saturday).
"I thought he was really lively - it was a promising 10 or 15 minutes, so hopefully we'll see a bit more of that."