The form of Ivor Pandur this season could present Hull City with a decision to make over the summer, and one that they perhaps were not counting on.
Pandur was named City’s Player of the Season earlier this month to cap what has been a fine individual campaign for a player who has been through the mill since he arrived in January 2023.
That acknowledgement is fair acclaim for Pandur, and while the season has not gone to plan for the Tigers, it’s given the Croatian chance to really showcase his skills and abilities.
It’s those skills and abilities that, through no fault of his own, caused some friction last season between owner Acun Ilicali, manager Liam Rosenior and goalkeeping coach Barry Richardson.
Pandur was a club signing when he arrived in a deal worth around £1m from Dutch outfit Fortuna Sittard. Rosenior, however, wanted to stick with a player he’d signed the summer before – Ryan Allsop. Ilicali wasn’t convinced by Allsop, but Rosenior kept faith with the experienced stopper, who has since guided Birmingham City to the League One title.
Ilicali then took to a fans’ Q&A to highlight those grievances, and Allsop moved on. Pandur became Tim Walter’s number one early in the season, but the arrivals of Carl Rushworth and Anthony Racioppi threatened that. Injury to Rushworth ruled him out for three months, and Racioppi’s iffy display against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup saw him fall out of favour.
Despite all that, Pandur remained focused. His display at QPR in late September remains one of his best, when he kept City on terms in a frantic opening 10 minutes which could have seen his side 4-0 down. The Tigers went on to win 3-1.
Since then, Pandur has had his own difficult moments in games, and there will be moments he looks back on where he believes he could, and should have done better. Carl Rushworth’s return to fitness saw him catapulted in at the beginning of the New Year, before being recalled to Brighton and Hove Albion. Undeterred, Pandur picked himself up to keep a big clean sheet in the 3-0 win at Sheffield United.
Throughout the run-in, the 25-year-old has been a consistent, reliable performer at the back of City’s defensive unit and is one of the key highlights in what has been a torrid campaign, albeit one that ended on a positive note at Fratton Park with the club securing its safety.
The challenge now for City is to ward off any potential interest in the goalkeeper that may come their way in the summer, because his displays in a struggling team have not gone unnoticed.