Midfielder Marvin Mehlem has today left Hull City. The German has completed a permanent transfer to Bundesliga 2 side Arminia Bielefeld for an undisclosed fee.
Signed by former Tigers boss Tim Walter from Darmstadt 98 last August, Mehlem made 17 appearances for the East Yorkshire club. The former Germany youth international scored once in a Carabao Cup tie against Sheffield Wednesday and contributed three assists.
The 27-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at SC Paderborn 07, bagging four goals in 16 outings. He joins a Bielefeld side who secured promotion from Bundesliga 3 as champions last term. They also made it through to their first DFB-Pokal final, becoming only the fourth third-tier team to achieve the feat, but finished runners-up to Stuttgart.
A statement on City’s website read: “We would like to thank Marvin for his efforts in black and amber and wish him well for the future.” Midfield is an area the Tigers will look to strengthen over the coming weeks ahead of forthcoming Championship season.
City are unable to pay a fee for any player in the next three transfer windows after the English Football League punished them for missing payments on the loan signing of Aston Villa forward Louie Barry earlier this year. Owner Acun Ilicali has written an open letter to fans saying they are “confident” they will win their appeal against the sanction.
“With regards to payments to suppliers, unfortunately, the club experienced a cash flow issue when it didn’t receive a £1.5m payment for a player which was intended to clear invoices from suppliers,” he said.
“I will cover this shortfall until we receive the funds we are owed and our team are in communication with all suppliers to rectify any outstanding issues as soon as possible.
“I want to reassure our fans that we have zero conflict with any clubs. Perhaps there were some finance administrative errors but I am sure the EFL will be understanding to our appeal and we are confident in our case.”
Here at Hull Live, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.