Hull City are primed for a crucial week as they look to ensure they do not fall foul of Financial Fair Play rules, despite being promoted to the Premier League.
Owner Acun Ilicali, sporting director Jared Dublin and head of recruitment Martin Hodge spent the weekend locked in discussions with opposition clubs in a bid to thrash out deals.
Between now and the close of play on Tuesday, City know they must recoup around £6m in transfer fees to fill the black hole in their three-year reporting period, but MKM Stadium bosses remain confident that they will do what they need to do after making key progress on Sunday.
A host of players who were not in Sergej Jakirovic’s plans at the end of the season are likely to be moved on, including Kasey Palmer and David Akintola.
Wembley heroes Ivor Pandur and Kyle Joseph both have interest from clubs in England and north of the border, and could yet move on before Tuesday night, with the club growing increasingly confident they will secure deals.
Joseph is wanted by Middlesbrough, who City beat in the Championship play-off final and is close to securing a £5m move to Teesside, while Ivor Pandur is another involved in discussions about a move away, despite being at the World Cup with Croatia.
Work has been ongoing for a period of time, with City knowing they must free up some finances to avoid a potential punishment from the Premier League. The league have the ability to fine City, or issue a points deduction. However small, any such punishment would create a huge problem for a newly-promoted team. Naturally, the lower the potential breach, the less impactful the punishment would be, but that’s now extremely unlikely after a busy weekend with Joseph and Pandur’s deal understood to wipe out the deficit.
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Monday is also the two-week marker until the players return for their first full day of pre-season training, with the squad reporting back to Cottingham on Monday, July 13, and it’s hoped there will be new arrivals by that point. The few days before that are expected to be testing days.
Sergej Jakirovic’s men will spend the first week in East Yorkshire before flying to Slovenia for a training camp. While in Slovenia, it’s expected that the Tigers will play two friendlies. They’ll then head to Turkey for a long weekend to tackle Super Lig opposition ahead of returning to England at the beginning of August.
City are also in discussions to have another away friendly before the Premier League campaign begins on August 22, with a potential European trip being discussed. A home friendly against French Ligue 1 opposition is also on the agenda, but not yet confirmed.
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