Forward joins the U18 squad
In what has been a busy week on the youth side of life at Brunton Park former-Pools U16 strike Jason Blackburn has joined the club on non-contract terms ahead of taking up a two-year scholarship with the U18 side next season.
“I’ve had Jason in with us twice already and I’ve seen him play against our U16 side for Hartlepool,” Kinder explained. “He was outstanding in that game and I think it’s a good signing for us.
“We’ve got him on a two-year scholarship but he has signed a non-contract form which allows us to play him between now and the end of the season.
“I found out that Hartlepool were going to release him, so I invited him over and it went really well. His finishing is very good, he looks sharp and we’re very pleased we’ve got him.
“He has played for Cleveland County and he has been top scorer with Hartlepool every season since their U9 level. He’s been averaging between 25 and 30 goals each year and he’s a big lad who handles himself well.
“It looks like we've found ourselves a natural finisher and I’m quite excited about this signing. We’ll just have to wait and see how he goes from here because we are more than happy to give him a chance.”