Neil Critchley discusses how Blackpool's new signing could impact the likes of Dominic Thompson, Andy Lyons and Owen Dale

The 25-year-old plays on the left, and will provide competition for the likes of Owen Dale, Andy Lyons and Dominic Thompson- who have all played in that area this season.

Seasiders boss Neil Critchley believes Coulson will give the Seasiders a different dimension going forward.

“We work from window-to-window and with our recruitment team we’re always looking further afield- you have to be ready for everything so Hayden has been on our radar for a while,” he said.

"He’s someone who I’ve seen since his U18s days at Middlesbrough, he was in a very good team there and played in the UEFA youth league. I came up against them during my time with Liverpool.

"He’s had different loans out in the football league, and has been in the Scottish Premier League. He’s got real quality on the left side, and has really good endurance. I think he’ll give us real quality. I see him as a wing-back, he can open up the pitch for you. We’re hoping he can bring some balance.

"He’s really good on the ball and makes good decisions. He’s got ability in his left foot which we believe will provide us with a different dimension in the second half of the season.

"We’ll see what happens with other players in that position. Any time you bring someone in, the likelihood of others departing increases. If players are unhappy with playing time then that’s a conversation we will have. If we can’t offer regular game time, and someone else can, then if it’s right for both clubs we’ll discuss it.

"The competition allows us to pick different players for different games, and different parts of games- which is important.

"We stress to the players that I can only pick a certain amount of players each week, so 11 will like me, others will think I’m alright because they’re on the bench, and others will dislike me because they’re not in the squad. We try to respect all of the players here, and if at any stage they’re unhappy then we have those conversations.

"We’re still looking elsewhere this window, but that may depend on what happens internally. We’re always keen to provide an environment where we coach our players to improve- no matter what age they are.”

Coulson could be in line to make his Seasiders debut in the EFL Trophy tie against Burton Albion on Wednesday evening (K.O. 7pm).

"He is eligible to play,” Critchley added.

"He’s not played loads of football so it’s something we need to take in consideration. He came off the bench for Middlesbrough against Aston Villa in the FA Cup. He’s been training every day.

"He’s a good age and had plenty of exposure at Aberdeen last season. It’d be foolish to think he’s going to play every minute of every game, but hopefully he stays on the pitch and he’s fit enough to make a big contribution for us.”