Hull City have made their latest signing in what comes as a big boost to Sergej Jakirovic as he looks to bolster his squad ahead of the opening game of the Championship season at Coventry City next weekend.
Akin Famewo arrives on a free transfer following his decision to leave Sheffield Wednesday at the end of last season, having turned down a new deal with the crisis club earlier this summer.
The 26-year-old defender has penned a two-year deal at the MKM Stadium with the club holding the option of an extra 12 months, and he provides valuable cover in the back line.
City have sold two of their League One title-winning team in the past few days, with Sean McLoughlin joining Blackburn Rovers and Alfie Jones going to Middlesbrough, so the arrival of the London-born left-footed centre-back is timely.
His free transfer arrival has been approved by the EFL, with the club currently only able to sign free agents and loan players that do not command a fee, under the terms of their restrictions.
Famewo will compete for a starting berth with John Egan, Charlie Hughes and fellow summer arrival Semi Ajayi. He could make his debut against Sunderland on Tuesday night as the Tigers play their first MKM Stadium friendly of pre-season.
The versatile defender made 48 Championship appearances for the Owls. He’s also played 76 times in League One and has one Premier League outing to his name, albeit just one solitary minute for Norwich City in a 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City in 2020.
Last term, the former Grimsby Town man played just 13 times for the Owls having missed a large chunk of the campaign with a muscle injury which saw him miss 26 games after a flying start to the season.
Famewo caught the eye in the early weeks before suffering the problem in a win away at Portsmouth in late October, only returning at the end of March.
He did play 79 minutes against City in just his second game back, but was withdrawn by Danny Rohl before Charlie Hughes powered in his sensational winner at Hillsborough in late April.
Speaking after Saturday’s win at Stockport County, boss Jakirovic revealed Famewo had been left back at Cottingham in a bid to get up to speed.
“Famewo is here with us. We left him at home to have two good training sessions because he didn’t play for a long time. He’s had some injuries, of course, but in my opinion, he’s a good player; he just needs to be healthy,” the Bosnian explained.
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