Hartlepool United transfer 'target' signs new one-year deal with Gateshead

Gateshead have rounded off a challenging week on a positive note after Harry Chapman signed a new one-year deal amid reports of interest from National League rivals Hartlepool United.

The former Bradford City and Barnet winger joined the Heed last summer and enjoyed an outstanding first season at the International Stadium as he scored ten goals and provided four assists in 46 appearances in all competitions. That was enough to ensure the 28-year-old was named as Gateshead’s Players’ Player of the Season and also earned him the Golden Boot award.

There have been reports suggesting Chapman could depart after just a solitary season on the south bank of the Tyneside and Hartlepool were just one of a number of clubs said to be keen on his services as talks over a potential new deal with new Heed manager Lee Cattermole continued. Those discussions have now come to a positive conclusion and Chapman will work under the former Sunderland and Middlesbrough midfielder as he embarks on his first season in management with the Heed.

Cattermole will now focus his attention on trying to add further new faces to the squad he inherited from predecessor Rob Elliot after the former Heed boss persuaded defensive duo Brad Nicholson and Kenton Richardson to follow him to Carlisle United. That has left Gateshead with skeletal defensive options with former Hartlepool captain David Ferguson the only senior option at the back as it stands. Ben Williams has agreed a new one-year deal with Gateshead and he will hope to add to the nine National League appearances he has to his name during the new season. As it stands, the only new arrival following Cattermole’s appointment has been former Sunderland youngster Tommy Lavery, who penned a two-year deal at the International Stadium last week following his departure from the Premier League club.

The new Heed boss has already admitted he could look to his former clubs to secure young prospects in loan deals ahead of the new season. Speaking last month, Cattermole said: “I think it’s down to so much stuff in terms of where these players are at. Who is available, who is not available. What the academy directors think, what the clubs think, what their agents think. I’d like to think they will trust us and know they will be in good hands. We will carry on whatever development plans they have for their players and we will communicate as much as we can.

“They would be coming into an environment where there is lots of care and lots of challenge. They’ll enjoy it because that challenge point is crucial for me as a manager. It’s about how can we challenge and support them at the right level on the right days. That excites me as a manager because they know it will be tough but they know why it will be tough.”