It’s going to be another busy summer of transition at Hull City as the Tigers prepare to welcome a new head coach ahead of the new Championship campaign. Sergej Yakirovic is primed to take over and replace Ruben Selles, who was sacked just under two weeks after the campaign finished at Portsmouth at the beginning of last month.
There will be no time for the Bosnian to relax after a busy end to the season in Turkey with Kayserispor, given the Super Lig campaign only finished on Sunday evening. He will need to hit the ground running quickly with City keen to avoid repeating the lessons of the campaign just gone when they were caught sleeping last summer following the arrival of Tim Walter.
Key to ensuring they begin the campaign in fine fettle will be solving some of the issues that blighted their season under Walter and then Ruben Selles, but getting off to a quick start in the transfer market will be absolutely crucial. They simply cannot afford to be left behind and then be caught playing catch-up.
The single biggest task facing owner Acun Ilicali, sporting director Jared Dublin and newly-appointed head of recruitment, Martin Hodge, will be adding goals to the side. City lost all bar a small handful of goals last summer from Liam Rosenior’s squad and they were never replaced.
City’s 44 goals scored in 46 Championship games were the lowest in the league, and that is where they must find the answers to some very difficult questions. Adding quality in the top third of the pitch is not easy at Championship level, especially for a team who finished where they did and without the benefit of parachute payments, but that’s what they must do.
Oli McBurnie remains a strong target, having held talks with the club in recent weeks. Swansea City are also keen on signing their former striker, while Sheffield United’s failure to win promotion presents a very obvious threat and one the club were prepared for.
Bringing in McBurnie on a free would be a good piece of business, and would send out a strong message about their intent over the course of the summer, provided they can get it done. We saw what happened with Kieffer Moore a year ago, and that should serve as a warning that nothing is done until the player is signed and sealed.
McBurnie cannot be the only attacking player signed, however. City ended the campaign with João Pedro as their leading scorer with just six. The club spent almost £5m on Mason Burstow and Kyle Joseph for a return of just two goals between them. The new manager must find a way to get goals out of those two. Burstow came close to leaving for Plymouth Argyle late in the January window, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if interest in him from elsewhere was rekindled. Though Pedro had his option year activated, it’s still expected that he will move on at some point during the summer months.
The club retain an interest in Joe Gelhardt, after his fine loan spell. Leeds United are willing to allow his permanent exit after lowering their financial expectations but it remains to be seen if City will pursue that deal following Ruben Selles’ exit. Louie Barry was initially expected to return to the MKM Stadium next season, but injury has plagued his 2025 so far.
It’s almost certain that Barry will return to the Championship next season. However, City have remained cool over a possible move for the Aston Villa youngster, especially with Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi nearing a return after their respective ACL injuries. Barry was due back before the end of the season, but suffered a major injury setback, and he may not return to fitness until much later in pre-season. Villa, however, given the strong ties between the two clubs, could provide City with further recruitment opportunities elsewhere.
Adding more pace and width on the flanks is thought to be high on the agenda of the new head coach, and that will be an area of real focus over the coming weeks, with the club keen to utilise the free transfer and loan market.
Away from bolstering their ranks in the final third, City will need to address the midfield area. Eliot Matazo remains sidelined through his own ACL problems, and a deal for Oscar Zambrano has not yet been reached. Even if it were, he would not be available until November, and it would take time for him to get up to speed after 12 months out. While he’s been allowed to train privately with his own fitness coach, the 21-year-old is not able to train either at Cottingham or with LDU Quito in Ecuador.
Steven Alzate and Gustavo Puerta are both viewed as salable assets and can generate income for the club. Regan Slater has been a hugely influential figure at the MKM Stadium since joining on loan from Sheffield United, but has attracted interest from other clubs in the Championship owing to his consistency. Losing any of those would require players coming in to replace them, given that area would be worryingly light.
Marvin Mehlem finished the season with Paderborn in Germany, and while the club have the option to make that move permanent, there are no assurances yet that it will happen. John Lundstram is a player linked to the club. The ex-Sheffield United man is currently playing in Turkey with Trabzonspor.
Xavier Simons ended the season at Wycombe Wanderers but is unlikely to see that move made permanent, and he’ll be allowed to leave the club, with interest in him from both here and abroad. There’s also a big decision to be made over the future of Abdus Omur. He’s not had the most successful stints back in the Super Lig with Rizespor, playing only six times.
Moving further back, things have been relatively well settled. The club have shown interest in departing West Brom defender Semi Ajayi. His arrival would represent solid cover for Alfie Jones, Charlie Hughes and John Egan. The future of Cody Drameh remains firmly up in the air with Derby County and Blackburn Rovers both keen. City would let the former Leeds United full-back leave, but only if their financial expectations were met.
Ryan Giles is returning from Middlesbrough with no fresh interest in the left-back. Under a new manager, he could be given a new lease of life, and that’s what City desperately need. At £4m, he was a costly investment and one they have not seen the best of. Fixing that area is absolutely crucial, given the Tigers spent the second half of the campaign operating with centre-back Sean McLoughlin filling in there.
In goal, Ivor Pandur remains the club’s number one, but there is a desire to bring in at least one, possibly two more goalkeepers to challenge him for the position. Thimothee Lo-Tutala became the second in command after Carl Rushworth’s January exit, but has not played in the Championship. Anthony Racioppi is coming back from his loan spell in Germany. Koln decided against making his move permanent. Reading stopper Joel Pereira is somebody under consideration, and there are other options being pursued.
City does not have huge amounts of money to spend this summer and will likely need to wheel and deal to strengthen their squad, while any sales will help boost what Jakirovic has to spend. He’s a manager who, based on past successes, needs to be backed in the window, and Acun Ilicali will need to do just that if he’s to give the Bosnian the tools needed to succeed.
Ultimately, the club need to be quick and decisive in their business. Much of their planning has been placed on hold while the new manager is found, but once the appointment is made, they must work effectively and get as much business done as possible before they head out for their pre-season training camp in Turkey in mid-July.