Scout Report: Lee Hodson

The right back position is one that 'Pool manager Ian Holloway clearly wants to strengthen, with Neal Eardley looking like he might feature in central midfield in the future.

The Seasiders currently have Newport County full back Paul Bignot on trial, and I thought that he did alright in the second half last night and is worth another look.

I'd like to bring to your attention another right back who I feel could do a job for us however: Watford's Lee Hodson.

Lee is only 19, yet has already played over 60 league games for Watford and has been capped 4 times by Northern Ireland.

Primarily he's a right back, but has filled in at left back on occasions.

Why do I rate him though?

Well, despite being in and out of Watford's side last season, he's a player with bags of potential and fits perfectly into our plans to bring in young players, polish them up and sell them on.

He's more solid defensively than Neal Eardley is, being strong and a good tackler; indeed, he's more akin to Chris Basham in that sense.

However, he's still capable of getting forward - he has a decent burst of pace and is more than capable of getting a good cross into the box.

In terms of weaknesses, only one really stands out - he's not brilliant in the air (but then most full backs aren't these days).

Remember though, he's only 19 and still had plenty of time to improve and develop.

Wages shouldn't be a problem at all, nor should any transfer fee - Watford are hard-up it seems at present and Lee has just one year left on his three year deal.

Another solid year both domestically and internationally could see bigger teams than us come sniffing for the player next summer; Ollie would do well to take a look at Lee now in my opinion.

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