Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor hoping to tie down permanent summer signings of Mark Shelton and Gary Liddle from Salford City and Walsall

The 23-year-old midfielder has been in fine form since arriving on loan from the Ammies, playing a direct role in each of the last five goals scored at Victoria Park.

Shelton also admitted he ‘would love to stay’ at Pools beyond the current season. And it's a move that manager Dave Challinor is very keen to get sorted when the player’s contract expires in the summer.

“[A permanent deal] is absolutely something we’re looking to do,” he confirmed.

“We’re talking with lots of players at the moment about next season. Ultimately Shelts is a Salford player and is contracted until the end of the season and they’ve got an option on him.

“From our perspective, yes we’ll be speaking with him and I know his agent really well and we’ve had conversations with what we’d like to do and he’s had conversations with Salford around his position there.

“He’s contracted there until 30th June and even if we wanted to get something sorted out in principle, legally we couldn’t do it anyway.”

Challinor is also hoping to tie down defender Gary Liddle in the summer as he added: “It’s the same with lots of players, Lidds is a similar situation.

“If we can get things in place with those two and if there are agreements between us and the players and their representatives almost as a gentleman's agreement, then we’ll get things sorted.”