It has been a busy window for Hull City already, and Sergej Jakirovic’s team continue to aim high
Christos Mouzakitis could set Hull City back a club record fee(Image: ANDREAS PAPAKONSTANTINOU/EPA/Shutterstock)
After leading Hull City back into the Premier League, manager Sergej Jakirovic has shown he means business on and off the pitch. The boss has masterminded back-to-back wins while integrating new signings into his play-off winning squad.
New arrivals including Nobel Mendy and Konstantinos Tzolakis have helped the Tigers’ defence stand firm and beat both Manchester United and Coventry City. Now, attention is turning to a player once targeted by the Red Devils.
Christos Mouzakitis is among one of the most highly-rated youngsters in Greek football. The 19-year-old already has 11 senior caps for his national team and has turned heads among European football’s biggest hitters.
However, Hull City could yet come out on top. According to talkSPORT, owner Acun Ilicali is pushing for a deadline day deal to bring the teenager to MKM Stadium.
In December, reports emerged that Mouzakitis preferred Real Madrid over United were he to leave his home country. Xabi Alonso was said to be a big fan of the playmaker, but ended up leaving the Bernabeu not long after links with the Spanish club surfaced.
Benfica, Porto, AC Milan and Arsenal have also been mentioned in connection with the teenager. He has been compared to Milan’s former Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric in the Spanish media, giving an indication of what Hull might see in him.
Late last year, a fee in the region of £34m was floated. That would represent a club record fee for the Tigers, who already set a new record with the signing of Mendy in July.
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“We rejected a €40 million offer from Brighton for Mouzakitis: this shows we firmly believe in this kid’s potential and that he can still grow,” Olympiacos chief Darko Kovacevic told Tuttosport during last season. “He’s 18 years old, but has the maturity of a thirty-something.
“We’re talking about a gem with extraordinary ball-handling skills. Something extremely rare in Europe for players of his age.”
Mouzakitis made 39 appearances in all competitions last season, including 10 outings in the Champions League. Olympiacos finished 18th in the league phase to set up a knockout round play-off with Bayer Leverkusen, which they lost 2-0 on aggregate.
This season, the Greek international played twice in Champions League qualifying as his team lost to NEC Nijmegen after extra time in the third qualifying round. That defeat saw Olympiacos drop into the Europa League, where their league phase opponents include AC Milan and Marseille.
Hull’s links come after they completed a move for Ilyas Ansah earlier on deadline day. The German striker has joined from Union Berlin after scoring five Bundesliga goals last season and has represented his country at Under-21 level.