Hartlepool United suffer transfer setback as Keith Curle reveals 'delay'

Both manager Curle and Hartlepool chairman Raj Singh were confident of confirming 'a couple' of new arrivals early in the window - Singh suggesting as much when speaking to a number of Hartlepool fan groups before Curle supported those claims to The Mail recently.

But following the New Year's Day draw with Harrogate Town, Curle confessed there has been a slight setback in one potential new signing who had agreed to move to the Suit Direct Stadium after his club had picked up an injury elsewhere within their squad.

And while the deal is not necessarily off the table, it represents a first setback in what is a hugely important month for Hartlepool when it comes to their recruitment.

“The deal was agreed with the agent, with the player, with the football club. But one of their players got injured on Thursday and they’ve said we need to hold fire for a couple of days just until they can assess the injury,” Curle told The Mail.

“Clubs aren’t going to do us any favours. They aren’t going to let him come to us and leave themselves short. So we have to be respectful of that.”

Curle added: “When you’re signing somebody that’s got a contract with somebody else, you are, to a degree, governed by them.

“So you have to go through the process in the correct manner. Sometimes there can be an agreement in principle that we’re going to sign a player, but the actual timing of it is down to the parent club because they might be waiting to get somebody else in.

“We have to be respectful of that and sometimes you've got to make sure that you’ve not just got one option.

“They’ve had an injury and it’s a delay to a potential signing that we had lined up to come in and join the football club. We understand that and accept that. We’ve identified a player who we think will improve us but we’ve got to be respectful of the parent football club.”

One player who Curle could be referring to is Newport County’s Matt Dolan.

Former Hartlepool midfielder Dolan has been left out of the Exiles’ squad a number of times this season but returned for the 2-2 draw with Crawley Town where he also got himself on the scoresheet.

The 29-year-old has made over 200 appearances for Newport since joining in 2017 but just 15 of those have come this season.

Dolan has six-months left on his deal at Rodney Parade after penning a two-year contract under former boss Michael Flynn in 2021.

Brad Walker is another ex-player who Hartlepool have an active interest in this month.

The 27-year-old has not featured for League One side Port Vale since their 2-1 win over Derby County in October but was recalled to the squad on the bench for the New Year’s Day win over Forest Green Rovers.

“You’ll be surprised how much work has been going on,” said Curle.

“We don’t just suddenly wait for a phone call. We’re actively out there looking for players we think can improve us.”