Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic has confirmed that Jonjo Shelvey is no longer training with the club after opting against offering the experienced midfielder a deal.
Shelvey had been on trial at City in the early weeks of pre-season training and played in all four of the games before Saturday’s win at Stockport County.
Despite that, Jakirovic says the Tigers were not in a position to offer Shelvey a contract when he would not be considered a regular starter.
“Jonjo was on trial for three weeks, but we decided that in this time he could not help us too much,” the Bosnian told Hull Live. “I think it’s useless to leave the player here just for rotation; we need players for the first eleven in each position.”
Having decided against pursuing a move for the 33-year-old, City are expected to complete a move for former Sheffield United star John Lundstram in the coming days after he negotiated his departure from Trabzonspor.
Shelvey follows Alfie Jones out of the MKM Stadium exit door, having moved to Middlesbrough. The 27-year-old made his Boro debut in a 2-2 draw at Rangers on Saturday.
Jakirovic says the decision was based on money and the need to allow players to move on in order to bring more in. He called for the EFL to help the club seek a suitable resolution to their transfer fee ban appeal.
“This is a club decision, but in my opinion, and from what I heard, everything here is about the money,” he continued. “So you need to release some players so you can bring in some new players. Everything is about the numbers, and that’s it. We have a difficult situation, but I hope that the EFL will support us. We need to build a new team, a new roster, so that we can play equally from the beginning of this season.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers boss hasn’t ruled out Lewie Coyle for the opening game at Coventry City on Saturday week. The skipper damaged his hamstring moments after coming on against Istanbulspor and had expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks.
However, Coyle is working hard to recover from that problem and could yet be involved at the CBS Arena, which gives Jakirovic food for thought given Cody Drameh’s impressive displays so far in pre-season.
“I think he will start to run next week,” the Bosnian said. “It’s supposed to be like four weeks, but he thinks it will be ready in three weeks.
When asked if Coyle could be fit for the season opener, Jakirovic added: “We will see. I think our medical team is good, so they will do everything they can.”
Coyle’s absence has provided Drameh with the chance to impress and stake his claim for a regular starting berth, though the Tigers chief doesn’t believe it’s a problem to have two players of such quality fighting for the position. “It’s no problem. I must find good recipes, but it’s better than when you have more players,” he added.
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