City will be aiming to bounce back against Bristol City on Saturday
Hull City’s squad for the weekend trip to Bristol City could be boosted by the arrival of Amir Hadziahmetovic, while skipper Lewie Coyle and talismanic defender Charlie Hughes are also set to be involved.
Hadziahmetovic trained with the Tigers squad on Thursday and will be in the travelling party that heads to the West Country on Friday afternoon, providing his move from Besiktas is ratified by the EFL.
The Bosnian international midfielder’s loan switch has not been confirmed at the time of writing, as City wait on news of Abu Kamara’s loan move to Getafe.
Kamara, who boss Sergej Jakirovic did not want to lose, has been in Madrid for the past few days and passed a medical with the La Liga club, but until his move has gone through, City cannot complete the signing of Hadziahmetovic.
Elsewhere, the return of Hughes is a big plus for Jakirovic, having been without the powerful central defender through illness last Saturday against Blackburn Rovers.
Coyle, meanwhile, is expected to travel with the squad, having been sidelined since the win over Istanbulspor with a hamstring injury he picked up five minutes after coming on.
The Tigers will still be without Matt Crooks, Akin Famewo and Semi Ajayi, while Enis Destan will not feature after falling victim to the bug that wiped out Hughes and other members of the playing squad and staff last week.
In a further boost, Mohamed Belloumi has completed a full week of training since making his long-awaited return on Saturday and will continue that recovery at Ashton Gate.
“We are not a full squad,” the Croatian told Hull Live. “Coyley is still training individually, so we will see. We will decide (after training) tomorrow (Friday) whether he will travel with us. As it stands, I feel he will be in the squad. Charlie trained fully today (Thursday) and feels good. The rest are in good condition.
“(Enis) Destan is ill. It’s the same as last week when we had a few players who were poorly and vomiting. Our plan is that he will join us after the international break. This is the plan, but we will see. Yes (he can’t catch a break), unfortunately, but what can we do?
“(Akin) Famewo felt his calf, so we expect him back after the international break. It’s small, nothing serious, and also, he was ill last week.”
After more than nine months out, Belloumi returned to the fold in the final stages of that defeat to Rovers, and Jakirovic will have the Algerian winger in his squad at Ashton Gate.
“OK, good, good,” he said of Belloumi’s reaction. “It’s very, very important for him that he is now part of the group. He feels everything. I’m satisfied with what I see, so he will be with the group, of course, so we will try to increase minutes.
“Matt Crooks is like Semi Ajayi, we expect him back after the international break, one or two weeks,” Jakirovic added before going on to provide updates on Ajayi and Liam Millar.
“Good, he (Ajayi) feels good. When I ask him, he always feels good, but we must be careful because he had surgery on the other leg before, so we must be very, very patient with him.
“Liam Millar will have retesting on September 2nd, and then I think if everything will be good, he will join the group to train with full contact.”
The Tigers boss believes Hadziahmetovic will bring added discipline to his midfield ranks, especially given the enforced absence of the influential Crooks, and says he’s ready to play having had a full pre-season in Turkey with Besiktas.
“Amir is here; we’re just waiting for everything to be signed. His fitness is good. He trained normally with Besiktas in pre-season. He will bring more discipline to the position, more duals, and more solutions on the ball. Sometimes, we can change Lunny (John Lundstram) as well, especially after the international break, when we will play every three or four days. They can play together, as well, but it gives us one more option.”
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