Hull City have been given the green light by the EFL to sign John Lundstram after agreeing a loan deal with his parent club Trabzonspor.
Midfielder Lundstram is expected to complete the formalities of his move back to Yorkshire in the next 24 hours and will likely be joined at City by Trabzon teammate Enis Destan on a free transfer.
The 23-year-old forward’s move is expected to be a permanent one with City agreeing to a 50 per cent sell-on clause as part of the deal that will see him sign a three-year deal at the MKM Stadium.
A deal to sign Nigerian winger David Akintola is also believed to be close, with City hoping all three can be signed and registered in time to face Getafe in Saturday’s final friendly outing of pre-season.
News of the duo’s imminent arrival will come as another major boost to City, who were able to confirm the signings of Akin Famewo and Joel Ndala ahead of Tuesday night’s impressive 2-1 friendly victory over Premier League newboys Sunderland.
The Championship club have still not given up hope of signing Oli McBurnie, having agreed in principle a contract with the Scotland international, but that deal has not yet been given the green light by the EFL.
“I would like to have Oli McBurnie,” City’s boss told Hull Live. “He would bring everything that we need – leadership, experience, and he knows the Championship. Plus goals. I hope the goals; we need goals. I believe, yes (we can get it done). I believe that the EFL will help us.”
It’s understood that sporting director Jared Dublin held a phone call with the EFL late on Tuesday afternoon in a bid to push through the outstanding deals City have lined up. From that call, Hull Live understands, the immediate salary budget the club had been placed under has been removed.
The EFL gave City an overall budget limit on wages in a bid to cap their spending, but that has now been lifted, though the club still has to ensure they remain on the right side of PSR guidelines, with not a huge amount of room for manoeuvre in that respect.
City, meanwhile, remains hopeful of seeing their three-window fee restriction ban lifted when their appeal is heard next week. The Tigers believe they have a presented a good case and will see some reduction in the punishment handed to them by the EFL, though it’s unclear what, if any, sanction will be imposed.
You Ready for this?
There is no better way to get you in the mood for a new campaign than this stunning 64-page EFL special edition.
We profile all 72 clubs in the EFL, have every team’s fixtures, look at the key players, and provide a comprehensive list of the crucial dates not to miss.
Your guide to the EFL is on sale now. Click here to buy.