“I’d be interested” – West Brom player open to longer Hawthorns exit | OneFootball

Baggies forward Reyes Cleary has revealed his interest in lengthening his stay in the North East.

West Brom forward Reyes Cleary has admitted he would be interested in the possibility of extending his loan spell with Hartlepool United after an impressive start with the Pools.

The 20-year-old has seemingly found his feet in the National League after a dismal spell at fellow Midlands outfit Walsall during the first half of this season, netting his first goal for the club in midweek at Tamworth.

Cleary played just three times for the Saddlers in League Two before being recalled by Albion and sent out to the Prestige Group Stadium, casting doubt over his long-term future at The Hawthorns with his contract running down in the summer.

Failing to impress in the fourth tier, there’s hardly any chance of Cleary breaking into the first team setup in the Black Country, but he does need to impress enough in the fifth tier to be rewarded with a new deal.

Cleary has seemingly managed to put his stint with Walsall behind him and kicked on in the National League, potentially putting a permanent move to Hartlepool in the pipeline.

As reported by the Hartlepool Mail, Reyes Cleary was asked about his future with the club, insisting he was keen on extending his stay after notching his first goal.

"Yes, I'd be interested," Cleary said.

“The fans are great and everyone in the team just wants to help me push forward.

"Many things can change, so we'll just have to see what happens."

Hartlepool boss Anthony Limbrick also reiterated his intentions to keep hold of Cleary, adding: "I thought he was outstanding at Sutton and that, rightly so, got him in the National League team of the week.

"We wanted him to get that goal which his performances have deserved. He can go on both sides, he can go on the outside and cross with his left, but I really like it when he stands someone up and cuts inside. He's done really well for us so far, he's a really good outlet in there. He's been playing wing-back, quite a different position for him, but he's still very much affecting the game.

"He's come in and performed well, so we want to keep him as long as we can. He's a young player, he's developing all the time - one thing I'd say about him is that he's very keen to learn, develop and get better. We're really happy with that side of it.

"As long as we can keep him, then we'll do that."

West Brom may consider Reyes Cleary permanent switch

It will have been a worry to West Brom that Reyes Cleary couldn’t produce the goods for one of the leading sides in League Two, as regular goalscoring form could have put him in contention to feature in the Championship next season, should Albion not gain promotion.

Instead, Cleary’s seems to be threatening an explosive run in the National League, which is nowhere near a level needed to play regular first team football for a side holding Premier League ambitions.