Hull City’s players will have their first full session of pre-season training at Cottingham today as the Sergej Jakirovic era fully takes off.
There will be some within the City cohort who will return to training with significant doubt over their futures at the MKM Stadium and whether or not they’ll still be at the club when the transfer window closes on September 1.
City have already been active in the market with three new arrivals, and more set to come in over the coming days with the Tigers in talks with a number of potential new arrivals.
Naturally, when there are incomings, there will be those who fall victim to a new regime and that will again be the case at City this summer.
Here’s a look at those returning with doubt over their futures…
Ryan Giles
The defender ended the season on loan at Middlesbrough after a prolonged period of discussions dating back to last summer. A return to the Riverside Stadium looks unlikely given Michael Carrick is no longer in charge. A potential olive branch would be new Boro chief Rob Edwards, who signed him at Luton Town, though he then didn’t play him and sanctioned his move to the MKM Stadium.
There is interest from other Championship clubs in Giles, and with City hunting a left-back, it looks like the writing could well be on the wall for the 25-year-old.
It’s a shame, because Giles is a popular character and has clear ability at this level, but for whatever reason, the move to the MKM Stadium has not worked out.
City forked out £4m on Giles only 12 months ago, and it’s unlikely they would be able to recoup anywhere near that for the former Wolves youngster, so it might be a case of cutting their losses for the benefit of the club, and the player himself, who needs to be playing regularly.
Marvin Mehlem
The midfielder was a signing last summer at the request of Tim Walter, but he was farmed out on loan to Paderborn in January after his departure and Ruben Selles came in. Unfortunately, Paderborn missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga, and therefore, their obligation to buy did not become active and he has returned to the MKM Stadium.
It remains to be seen if they will try and take Mehlem back this summer, but it’s understood there is interest in the 27-year-old and he is keen to make a return to his homeland, if the deal is right.
James Furlong
The Irishman was a promotion winner with loan club AFC Wimbledon last season, with an impressive 1-0 win over Walsall in the League Two play-off final at Wembley, though he didn’t feature from mid-March onwards and wasn’t involved in the play-offs.
Since joining City in the summer of 2023, Furlong has only made one appearance for the Tigers first team and that came in an FA Cup replay at Birmingham City.
Even despite City’s left-back troubles of last season, Furlong was overlooked so it’s hard to imagine a situation where he’s involved this season, and will need to go and play.
Matty Jacob
Another one who needs to go out and play. Despite being 24, he’s only managed 23 appearances for City’s first team. Under Ruben Selles, the Spaniard preferred to deploy Sean McLoughlin on the left side of the back four, having allowed Giles to leave for Boro, which wasn’t a ringing endorsement for the Barnsley-born defender.
The left-back has no shortage of interest with League One duo Bolton Wanderers and Reading fighting over his signature, and there’s an expectation that his exit will happen.
Jacob’s at an age now where he can’t be content with sitting on the bench and playing understudy; he needs to be playing week in and week out.
Cody Drameh
The right-back has found game time limited since joining from Leeds United last summer, especially given he’s been battling skipper Lewie Coyle.
Drameh did operate on the left side of defence at times last season, but has not played anywhere near as often as he would have liked.
Interest from a host of Championship clubs has come in this summer, with Derby County amongst those who have lodged bids for the 23-year-old, but City have so far stood firm. New boss Jakirovic is keen to take a look at Drameh in the summer before making any decision over whether to let him go or not.
Steven Alzate
Signed on a free in September, Alzate was one of City’s star performers last term, even though at times, Selles opted to rest him during three-game weeks in the latter stages of the campaign, and he was missed.
City know there is interest in the Colombian as he arrives back for training, both in Spain and here in England. Selles has kept tabs on Alzate, and now he’s at Sheffield United, a reunion in the Steel City cannot be ruled out.
Allowing him to leave for significant money would not only free up space on the wage bill but also give them room for manoeuvre in the transfer market.
Gustavo Puerta
Like Alzate, Puerta was one of last season’s arrivals, joining initially on loan. His move from Bayer Leverkusen was made permanent in the final weeks of the season after his appearance clause was triggered on Good Friday in the dismal 1-0 loss at Swansea City.
Puerta showed glimpses of his quality last season, but he’s made no secret of his desire to make a move elsewhere, and like Alzate, he’s viewed as a player that could bring in some valuable finance, though City would like to try and recoup the £3m they paid the German outfit.
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