Hartlepool United transfers: Five questions to consider after January window including decision on Sunderland and Barnsley loanees

Curle took his tally to 11 for the month after a flurry of late business with the onus now on the Hartlepool boss to utilise the players at his disposal to move Pools away from trouble in League Two.

But having assessed the business done over the course of January, there remain some questions to consider as we head into the second half of the season.

Did Hartlepool United’s transfer strategy change during the window?

Heading into the transfer window the focus for Hartlepool appeared to be centred around bringing in a number of experienced heads for the here and now to help resolve their league crisis.

However, as the month would unfold, that transfer approach appeared to change, or at the very least fluctuate.

“I know what we’ve got in place and I’ve identified a number of players that I think will be of value to us in the short-term,” Curle told The Mail early in the window.

“And it is a short-term thing. Are we going to be trying to sign players to develop for a year or 18 months time? No. We’re signing players who can go straight into the team and help improve the level of performances and the level of returns in results.

“It’s very much a short-term mentality because we’ve only got from January until the end of the season to improve on the field."

The arrival of Newport County’s Matt Dolan and former Hartlepool defender Peter Hartley would certainly attest to that particular strategy.

And yet Curle then brought in 22-year-old Dan Dodds and 20-year-old Edon Pruti - both of whom had zero Football League experience.

19-year-old Blackpool midfielder Tayt Trusty and 19-year-old Arsenal defender Taylor Foran would also come through the door to suggest there was some changes to the recruitment approach as things went on.

Both Dodds and Pruti, in particular, having signed permanent deals with the club, appear ones who can look to progress and grow at the Suit Direct Stadium before then moving on to the next level in their careers should Hartlepool not meet their expectancy.

With that in mind, should Keith Curle have allowed Sunderland and Barnsley loanees to leave?

It’s a question of relevance given the nature of some of the aforementioned signings.

Ellis Taylor quickly appeared not to fit into Curle’s plans before a somewhat muddled ending to his time with his boyhood club as he returned to the Stadium of Light.

Clarke Oduor, however, had been in and out of the first team picture and became something of a utility man for Curle during his first few weeks at the club.

The Barnsley loanee filled in at full-back, wing-back and across the forward line before, like Taylor, finding himself out of contention.

Oduor would be sent back to Oakwell at the beginning of the month despite Curle struggling with numbers.

But not only that, Oduor showed, in glimpses, there was something potentially to work with which could have leant itself to further opportunities in the first team, at least until the end of the window.

Do Hartlepool United’s deadline day signings suggest a change of approach?

Curle has tinkered with his formation quite a lot since his arrival as he endeavours to strike a balance between defensive solidity and posing an attacking threat.

In recent weeks that has materialised as a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2 approach with Dodds acting as a right-sided centre-back inside of wing-back Jamie Sterry.

That partnership has shown some signs of encouragement during their limited game time together and yet the arrival of three midfielders on deadline day means Curle may have to reshuffle his approach.

Brendan Kiernan, for example, as per Fbref, featured on the right of midfield, either outright or in a right-wing role, 11 of the 18 times recorded for Grimsby Town this season.

That is fine if Curle is to stick with a 3-4-3 and Kiernan occupies the right-wing forward role - based on the assumption Sterry would continue as the right-sided midfielder.

Should that be the case, with Ferguson on the left of a midfield four and Joe Grey or loan signing Dan Kemp in the left-wing forward role, Curle would have two central midfield spots available between Nicky Featherstone, Dolan, Mohamad Sylla, Mouhamed Niang, Callum Cooke, Trusty, Tom Crawford, when he returns from injury, and new signing Oliver Finney.

Should Curle continue with a 3-5-2 that opens up one slot, and allows Connor Jennings to join Josh Umerah in attack. But what then of Kemp, Kiernan, Grey, Wes McDonald and Jake Hastie?

It seems Curle will have some difficult decisions to make on a weekly basis.

What of Hartlepool United’s bids for a top striker?

This is arguably the question fans will be keen to learn the answer to most after chairman Raj Singh had suggested the club were interested in a number of League One and League Two strikers.

Jennings’ arrival from Stockport seems solid enough business but is he the calibre of striker Singh and Curle had led fans to believe would potentially come through the door?

Pools missed out on several targets who may have fit that bill, but the proof will undoubtedly come over the course of the next three months as to how much that particular avenue failed over the duration of the window.

Have Hartlepool United done enough?

Likewise the proof will come at the end of the season.

Curle has brought in 11 new faces in January, an entire starting XI, which tells you how much he thought the squad needed strengthening.

There has been some reasonable business conducted, with those deadline day recruits yet to be called upon, but when you compare Hartlepool’s business to that of their relegation rivals, does it match up? It needs to match up and better at least two of those rivals.