Hull City targeting transfer swoop for 65-cap international midfielder

Hull City are plotting a summer transfer move for Turkey international midfielder Ozan Tufan, according to Fenerbahce Habers.

They claim that the Tigers are going to make a ‘rental’ offer – a loan move – for the 27-year-old ahead of the 2022-23 Championship season, with new owner Acun Ilicali looking to strengthen Shota Arveladze’s squad.

Ilicali, a successful Turkish businessman and a household name in his native country, has close links to Fenerbahce and helped facilitate a move for Mesut Ozil to join the club in January 2021.

However Ozil and Tufan were both suspended from first-team activities by Fenerbahce last month, reportedly for voicing their frustrations over a lack of minutes on the pitch to manager Ismail Kartal.

Tufan spent the first half of the 2021-22 season on loan in the Premier League with Watford, but featured just seven times in England’s top flight before having his deal at the Hornets cut short.

After returning to Fenerbahce, Tufan – who has amassed 65 caps for Turkey – played six times in the Super Lig, with his last appearance being a brief cameo in March against Konyaspor before he was suspended.

The Verdict

Hull fans – prepare to be linked with a plethora of Turkish-based talents due to Ilicali’s stature in the country and Arveladze’s past management in the Super Lig.

The likes of Ryan Babel and Adama Traore – not the one of Wolves notoriety – have already been reported as transfer targets and Tufan is now the latest from the country to be a potential target.

The engine room is somewhere that looks likely to need bolstering this summer, with Richie Smallwood not getting any younger and Greg Docherty not exactly deemed to be a favourite under Arveladze.

We could see a new-look Hull team when next