The Tigers have sanctioned the exit of the forward to help them free up valuable squad space
Hull City striker Enis Destan will spend the rest of the season in Belgium(Image: Jasper Wax/Getty Images)
Hull City have confirmed the temporary departure of striker Enis Destan, with the Turkish performer moving to Belgium, where he’ll join Westerlo.
As revealed by Hull Live, City have struck a deal with the Pro League strugglers to sign the 23-year-old forward on loan until the end of the current campaign.
Destan is currently sidelined with a knee injury, but Westerlo will hope he comes back to fire the goals that move them away from the bottom end of the table.
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Westerlo are just a place above the relegation zone, and look set to feature in the end-of-season relegation play-offs, which get underway later this year, with the regular campaign set to come to a close at the end of March.
Destan was one of City‘s summer arrivals from Trabzonspor alongside John Lundstram, but missed the first four league games with the same knee issue which has kept him out since the start of the month. He made his debut off the bench in the 2-2 draw at Swansea City in September.
The 23-year-old’s first goal came in the 3-2 win over Portsmouth at the MKM Stadium with a coolly taken near-post finish, and he backed that up the following week when he headed in well to give City the lead at QPR, only for the Tigers to end up losing 3-2.
“This is the reason (to allow Koumas to come in). Destan has his problem with his knee, his MCL (medial collateral ligament), so he’s tried to sort this out, and in Westerlo it’s a longer season (because of the play-offs),” Jakirovic told Hull Live of the reasoning behind his move. “It’s almost until the end of May, so there is for him an option that he will get some minutes there after he sorts out this injury.”
City have been trying to move out first-team fringe members in order to bring in new faces ahead of Monday night’s 7pm deadline, and his exit has allowed the club to seal a loan move for Liverpool winger Lewis Koumas.
Koumas, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Birmingham City, goes straight into the squad to face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday. More exits can’t be ruled out before Monday evening, with Brandon Williams expected to move on and interest remaining in David Akintola.
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