Former Hartlepool United goalkeeper Brad Young has been released by Leicester following their relegation from the Premier League.
The 23-year-old signed his first professional contract at Pools in 2019 and returned to the North East on loan last season, making 10 appearances before losing his place in the side and being recalled to the East Midlands.
Pools fans had high hopes for Young, who returned to the Prestige Group stadium on a season-long loan last August. Although he never made a senior appearance during his initial spell at Pools, he attracted the attention of former Premier League champions Leicester, securing a move to the King Power Stadium in July 2021.
Having progressed through the youth ranks in the East Midlands, Young returned to Pools to gain some much-needed experience of first team football. Other than a spell at Blyth Spartans in 2020 and a stint at Notts County, where he never featured, two years later, Young had next to no senior experience.
The 23-year-old made 10 Pools appearances last season, keeping four clean sheets, before losing his place to Adam Smith and being recalled by parent club Leicester. Picture by Frank Reid.The 23-year-old made 10 Pools appearances last season, keeping four clean sheets, before losing his place to Adam Smith and being recalled by parent club Leicester. Picture by Frank Reid.
The 23-year-old made 10 Pools appearances last season, keeping four clean sheets, before losing his place to Adam Smith and being recalled by parent club Leicester. Picture by Frank Reid.
He had to wait almost a month before making his Pools debut, with then-manager Darren Sarll preferring to stick with Adam Smith despite an expectation among fans that Young would take over as first choice. When he did get his chance, Young made a strong start, producing a number of impressive saves in a narrow defeat to Forest Green Rovers in September.
Although he made a number of eye-catching saves, Young struggled to quite live up to the considerable expectation surrounding his return over the coming weeks. While clearly an adept shot-stopper, there were concerns about the inexperienced goalkeeper's failure to command his area and thoughts among some fans started to turn back to Smith, who was more confident coming for crosses.
Young endured a challenging afternoon against Solihull Moors in November. Although Pools won a thrilling game 4-3, Young, who wasn't helped by extremely difficult conditions, was at fault for all three Moors goals and looked to be lacking confidence.
Veteran manager Lennie Lawrence, who replaced Sarll in October, kept faith with Young for the next two league matches. Young kept successive clean sheets, taking his total to four in his last six matches, and made a superb close range save to preserve a point in a goalless draw with eventual champions Barnet in late November. Even so, Smith produced a commanding performance of his own in an FA Trophy clash with Tamworth at the beginning of December, convincing Lawrence to make a change in-between the sticks. Having lost his place and with little sign he was set to regain it, Young was recalled by Leicester in February.
Young is one of 11 players leaving the King Power Stadium this summer, including legendary striker Jamie Vardy and fellow goalkeepers Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen.
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