Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor assesses the prospect of approaching former Hull City winger Tyler Hamilton following Sunderland trial

The Pools boss has been actively trying to secure permanent deals for the likes of Macauley Southam-Hales and Mark Shelton while Timi Odusina and Gary Liddle have already agreed deals in principle to return to Victoria Park for whenever the new season gets under way.

Striker Rob Harker could also be given another opportunity to prove his worth in the North East as Challinor said ‘the door isn’t closed’ for the 20-year-old.

Another player who hasn’t had the door closed on him by Challinor is former Hull City winger Tyler Hamilton, who scored once in eight appearances on loan at Pools last season.

The 21-year-old was then recalled and released by the Tigers and has since been on trial back in the North East with Sunderland.

Hamilton remains without a club and Pools are in the market for a winger – so could Challinor be picking up the phone in the coming weeks?

“Tyler left us and played a few games for Sunderland on trial so nothing is close to being sorted with him by any stretch but I wouldn’t completely rule it out either,” the Hartlepool manager told the Mail.

“From where we were, it’s knowing where we are with the players we’ve had in and around the squad and then fill in from there.

“In terms of a wide player, that’s someone we’re looking to bring in but is that a necessity for us at the moment?

“We’ve got Ry and Mols who can do jobs out wide but it’s not a closed book.

“It’ll be a matter of sorting things at our end and seeing where we stand after that.

“What people are doing at the moment is wondering when contracts might start and it’s a difficult one for us to commit to right now.

“We think we’re going to be starting in September but there’s no absolute confirmation on that so there is still a bit of uncertainty to sort out before we tie down the likes of Timi and Lidds and go from there.”