Danny Cowley lifts the lid on ex-Southampton midfielder on trial with Portsmouth

The former Southampton midfielder was one of 10 triallists who featured in today’s 5-2 win at the Hawks.

However, Hesketh was the only unattached player who started the game alongside the likes of Ronan Curtis, John Marquis, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Shaun Williams.

The ex-Burton loanee, who has been with the Blues since the beginning of pre-season, started in the number-10 role at Westleigh Park and played with plenty of energy and enthusiasm.

Hesketh’s a player that Cowley knows well, having signed him in 2019 while in charge of Lincoln

The head coach was tight-lipped on many of the triallists but indeed revealed the identity of Hesketh when asked by The News.

And with Cowley hoping to sign ‘one or two’ players he’s currently running the rule over, the 25-year-old is a player who he believes has a lot of quality.

Cowley said: ‘We know Jake. He's got a good attitude from previous. He was with us on loan at Lincoln and he did fine.

‘He has done great and is a good footballer, no doubt. He's got technical ability, is a good footballer, good work ethic and this is what we wanted.

‘We know we're a long way from where we want to be in terms of recruitment. We still want to bring in eight or nine players to this group.

‘For us to safely navigate through pre-season, it's important we have some triallists with us. Hopefully we have given them a really good way into their season.

‘It would be great if we could take one or two but time will tell.’