Acun Ilicali’s £30m message to West Ham and Tottenham over Keane Lewis-Potter's Hull City future

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali says he would turn down a bid of £30m for Keane Lewis-Potter in his quest to keep the 21-year-old at the MKM Stadium next season. Ilicali sees Lewis-Potter as the player to guide the Tigers back to the Premier League and is intent on keeping his star man, despite growing advances from the Premier League.

City will have a significantly increased budget in the Championship next season having been in the bottom three this term, and despite a flurry of new signings set to arrive ahead of the pre-season trip to Marbella in July, Ilicali views Lewis-Potter as central to his plans.

The Hull-born ace who also collected his first England Under-21 cap this season, is the subject of strong interest from West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, while Brentford saw bids turned down last summer and again in January. No formal bids have yet been put to the board at the MKM Stadium, but it's understood interest from Hammers boss David Moyes is genuine and contact has been made between the clubs.

Ilicali, though, has offered Lewis-Potter a new long-term contract at his hometown club in a bid to fend off interest on significantly improved terms, and told the youngster that he is key to City's hopes of securing promotion next season.

"Keane is like god's gift to us," beamed the Turkish businessman. "He has extreme potential and of course, we've had big offers for him. If I put myself in Keane's position, I think it will be better for him to be in a team playing all of the games and show his talent in a team in his hometown. We are talking about some important things. He's important to the city, he's one of us. He has special feelings for this club, more than some of the players.

"His talent is incredible.