The defender is under contract at Hull City until the summer of 2028
Frank Lampard refused to be drawn on Coventry City’s latest failed approach for Hull City defender Charlie Hughes, as the Sky Blues decide whether to launch another bid.
Coventry have been tracking the 21-year-old defender all summer and have already seen £4m and £7m bids turned down before City owner Acun Ilicali rebuffed their latest offering.
Hull Live understands Coventry’s bid on Thursday was in the region of £10m, but Ilicali rejected that instantly and remains determined to keep a player the club rates highly. City want him to remain at the MKM Stadium beyond the summer window which closes at 7pm on Monday.
“There’s no news until there’s news,” the Sky Blues chief told Coventry Live on the eve of their clash at Oxford United.” And, unfortunately, I can’t give you anything. But I think it would be disrespectful to anything that may happen, so my focus is on the game, and if something happens, you’ve got three days, you’ll find out.”
“I can’t speak about Charlie Hughes,” a defiant Lampard then said. “He’s their player. It’s like somebody talking about my player; I wouldn’t expect another manager to do it. He’s a good player, it’s very clear, but I just can’t do that.
“The transfer window is difficult for all managers. Maybe some clubs at the top of the Premier League can take their pick, but it’s difficult for managers because once the season starts, you would love to be able to absolutely focus and say, this is the squad, that’s what it is.
“So that bit is frustrating. But that’s just a thing, and that’s what everybody has to deal with. So I have to try and remain level-headed. My job is also to push, and I feel like I know what this football club needs in the squad to be balanced, to be able to compete with the strength and depth that other teams have in this league.
“So it’s my job to push that, within reason. I understand where we are, we’re not certain clubs, the parachute teams, etc. We know we’re different here, but we also have good players here that we want to keep hold of. So, as much as people might be pining for signings, it’s also a question of can we keep our best players? That’s a huge thing for us.”
Tigers boss Sergej Jakirovic has spoken openly about Hughes’ situation and believes the former Wigan Athletic would be better served staying at City, and then moving to the Premier League next summer. The Croatian has also suggested Hughes feels the same and is not keen on moving to another Championship club.
Hughes missed last Saturday’s home defeat to Blackburn Rovers due to an illness that hampered preparations for the game, but is back in the squad for the trip to Bristol City on Saturday.
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