Young striker or midfielder Dean McDonald has agreed to join Hartlepool on a one-month loan. The former Arsenal trainee will meet up with his new team-mates on Friday ahead of their League One match at Gillingham on Saturday.

Town boss Joe Royle says McDonald will find the short-term switch useful: "I said it would be good experience for him. Hartlepool have a number of big games coming up and this is a chance for him to get League experience."

Royle says that Nicky Forster's return to fitness means the 19-year-old is less likely to be involved in the first team: "Now everyone is fit here he has slipped down the pecking order a bit, but that is not to say he has not done well when he has played."

Town are keen to stress that the move is designed purely to gain McDonald senior experience.

The Londoner was recommended to Hartlepool by goalkeeper coach Andy Rhodes, whose brother-in-law is Hartlepool assistant manager Steve Agnew. The former Leicester player is also familiar with the diminutive frontman from his time as a Leeds coach. McDonald had a trial at Elland Road before joining the Blues.

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