Graeme Lee gives his reaction on the Huddersfield Town goalkeeper who will challenge Ben Killip for the Hartlepool United No1 spot

Lee’s pursuit of a new goalkeeper to challenge Ben Killip for the Hartlepool United No1 spot has been drawn out in recent weeks after Jonathan Mitchell’s contract expired with the club.

Former Newcastle United stopper Mitchell had been offered a new deal at the Suit Direct Stadium but the 27-year-old made the switch to Doncaster Rovers instead leaving Pools short on numbers between the posts.

Pools had been close to a number of targets throughout the month, including a player they know well in Trevor Carson before he decided on a move to Morecambe in League One instead.

Bradford City’s Richard O’Donnell was another linked with a potential move to the Suit Direct Stadium after falling out of favour at Valley Parade but a move failed to materialise.

Lee has welcomed a number of trialists into the club’s Maiden Castle training base over recent weeks, while deciding whether to pursue a permanent or a loan-deal replacement for Mitchell before Monday’s deadline.

And in the end Lee went with a loan option with Huddersfield Town’s Nicholas Bilokapic the man now tasked with challenging Killip for the rest of the season.

The 19-year-old has been on Lee’s radar for a number of weeks but due to his involvement within the Terriers first team squads of late, the Pools boss was unsure whether a deal could be struck.

“He’s been one we’ve asked questions about but he’s been amongst Huddersfield’s first team, he was on the bench on Friday night,” said Lee.

“We knew it could have been on the cards and we had to be a bit patient with it. We have looked and sourced other avenues, do we go permanent? Do we go with a loan move? But Nicholas is one we’ve been following, we’ve been asking questions and thankfully Huddersfield have allowed it to come through so we’re delighted to get it done.”

Bilokapic is now tasked with trying to wrestle the gloves from Killip, while Pools can also look to offer third choice Patrick Boyes the opportunity to continue his development with a potential move to the non-league scene.

“We want the squad to be added with quality and we want people to push each other and that’s why Nicholas is coming in, to push Ben and fight for the No1 spot,” said Lee.

“We want people to be challenging each other. Ben is doing fantastically well at the moment and hopefully that continues. Nicholas will have to come in and be patient at times but he will push and he’s come highly recommended and everything we have seen is what we’ve been looking for to come in in that position.

“Young Patrick has got a great opportunity but his pathway was always to try and get him out on-loan to try and play some men’s football for his development so that will hopefully allow for that as well.”

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Hartlepool United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription to our new sports-only package here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor.