Hull City have made some interesting signings in the transfer window so far but could still complement the squad.
The Tigers are back in the Premier League for the first time in nearly 10 years. They have come a long way from the team that got relegated in Marco Silva’s first stint in English football in 2016-17. It went as low as League One football at one point.
Turkish owner Acun Ilicali has shown to be fond of making less flashy signings and going for unknown players and managers. It’s how he landed at Sergej Jakirovic, who joined under suspicion and doubts from the fans before leading the team back to the top flight.
And they have made some smart signings so far – many of them also unknown. A few players have already been on the big stages. Japan international Hidemasa Morita was playing at Sporting, featured in the 2022 World Cup and missed out on the 2026 edition due to injury.
Others even have previous Premier League experience, such as goalkeeper Jack Butland and left-back Matt Targett.
| Player | Position | Previous club |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Butland | GK | Rangers |
| Konstantinos Tzolakis | GK | Olympiakos |
| Lucas Herrington | CB | Colorado Rapids |
| Nobel Mendy | CB | Rayo Vallecano |
| Elliot Stroud | LB | Mjallby |
| Matt Targett | LB | Newcastle |
| Hidemasa Morita | CM | Sporting |
| Oscar Zambrano | CM | Maribor |
| Jens Hjerto-Dahl | CM | Tromso |
Where could Hull City complement the current squad to better suit Jakirovic’s style?
Technical on-ball centre-backs
Hull City have suddenly found themselves with three gems in the centre-back spot. 22-year-old Charlie Hughes has been at the club for two years and is set to have his first top-flight experience, still recovering from an injury.
21-year-old Nobel Mendy has joined from Rayo Vallecano – as well as 18-year-old Lucas Herrington, from the Colorado Rapids. The Tigers are well positioned at the back for many years to come should they stick around. Or at least to make a lot of profit in future sales, considering the talent they all have and how all logics point towards them developing into great players.
More experienced central defenders are also in the squad, such as John Egan, Semi Ajayi and Paddy McNair. Hull have addressed what was one of their needs in the transfer window. But still could probably do with a higher-quality, Premier League-proven centre-back.
A trio of Hughes, Herrington and Mendy certainly sounds entertaining, but might not be the best idea – straight away, at least.
Hull were among the fastest and most direct teams in the second tier last year. Jakirovic switched back-and-forth between the 4-2-3-1 and the 3-4-2-1 all campaign last year but sticked with the latter to end the season. And won promotion from the Championship with it.
Given the heavy activity to bolster the central defence department and the attacking-minded profile of all their left-backs/left-wing-backs, it feels natural that the Bosnian manager insists on having three at the back.
Their three new young and promising centre-backs all have on-ball qualities that stand out, whether due to passing range, carrying ability or both. At the same time, the midfielders are more hard-workers than technicians, which means that the ball may often go straight from the defenders to the forwards. And they might need to work on that department.
Speedy forwards
Oli McBurnie has proved time and again to be a reliable target-man option at the highest levels. His goalscoring records in the Premier League and LaLiga do worry. But as crazy as it may seem, that may not be his primary role.
The Scotsman scored just three goals in 34 league games in the Spanish top tier in 2024/25. He also underperformed his expected goals tally (-1.8) and converted 18% of his big chances (2/11). In similar fashion, he scored six goals from 6.92 xG in 21 Premier League games in 2023/24 and one from 3.88 xG in 2020/21.
But he has showed consistency in aerial duels, always hovering around 50% success rate on high volume. And also chances created, always reaching double figures in this metric.
McBurnie will get on the end of the long balls from the centre-backs and also bring teammates into play, guaranteed – though a back-up would be nice. However, the Tigers lack pace up front to target other players with the long balls.
Mohamed Belloumi finished the season in fine form and single-handedly won them the semi-final tie against Millwall. He came off the bench just before half time, scored the opener and assisted the winner in a 2-0 win at The Den following a 0-0 home draw to send them to Wembley.
Liam Millar’s versatility will come in handy for Jakirovic but he is not a starting-caliber player at any of the many positions he plays in.
David Akintola failed to nail down a starting spot for Hull and was left out of the 25-man squad after the January transfer window. And those are all of the Tigers’ fast players that could play up front.
Right-backs
While Hull have made sure to provide Jakirovic with plenty of left-backs to choose from, including Ryan Giles and new signings Matt Targett and Elliot Stroud, the right-back position is in severe lack of options.
Club captain Lewie Coyle has never played in the Premier League. Cody Drameh failed to impress in the top tier during his time at Leeds United.
Millar could definitely slot in as right-wing-back, but isn’t the most reliable option to be a starter. His defensive shortcomings would also become a problem at some point, despite trying to make up for it with great work-rate and energy.
Hull can be in decent position to compete and maintain the fast, direct and entertaining style that gave them so much success last year. But whether it’s due to quality or profile of player, they still need to make a few moves.
Pacey forwards to get on the end of long balls from technical defenders with good passing range they have already signed, and possibly better, defensive-minded right-backs to make up for the attacking-minded trio from the left (Targett, Stroud, Giles).