Hull City are looking for at least another five signings as the Tigers look to give Sergej Jakirovic a fighting chance of being successful when the new campaign kicks off in early August.
City have so far brought in Reda Laalaoui, Dillon Phillips and Semi Ajayi in the days since Jakirovic’s appointment was confirmed and further new arrivals are expected in the near future as the squad prepares to kick off their pre-season campaign on Monday.
Bosses at the MKM Stadium know they must add quality up front after ending the season as the Championship’s lowest scorers and are working to try and sign Oli McBurnie, while there are other targets.
The Tigers are keen to add quickly to ensure they do not repeat the mistakes of last season, when Tim Walter saw the majority of their new signings join after the final pre-season friendly of the summer at Reading, the week before the Championship campaign kicked off.
By this point last summer, the only fresh face added to a depleted squad was Cody Drameh, but 12 months on, business so far has been far more brisk and it’s expected to continue.
Ideally, at least two more new faces would arrive before the squad jets out to Turkey for their seven-day pre-season training camp in Riva on July 13.
The Tigers remain hopeful of adding McBurnie once his contract expires on June 30, while the club remain locked in talks with a Premier League outfit over signing a left-back on loan for the season. Utilising the loan market will be key for City once again, and with five spaces available, it’s expected that the club will look to maximise that opportunity to bring in talent from the top-flight.
Bringing in another wide player remains high on the agenda, while there could be another goalkeeper arrival later in the window to provide added cover for number one Ivor Pandur and recent arrival Phillips, which would allow Harvey Cartwright to follow Thimothee Lo-Tutala out on loan.
Signing Lewis O’Brien from Nottingham Forest would be a major coup, though the club faces strong competition from rivals in the Championship. Oscar Zambrano is still likely to arrive, even though he cannot resume his career until November. Talks remain ongoing with LDU Quito in Ecuador.
Meanwhile, exits will continue with City keen to free up space in the squad and on the wage bill. Anthony Racioppi is joining FC Sion in Switzerland and Marvin Mehlem could make a permanent return to Germany. Matty Jacob continues to have talks with interested parties, including Reading.
Ryan Giles, back from his loan spell at Middlesbrough, has admirers in the Championship, and Abdus Omur is expected to make a permanent move back to Turkey with Antalyaspor and Samsunspor showing interest.
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