Hull FC CEO James Clark compliments Jake Trueman as he addresses transfer speculation

Hull FC CEO James Clark has admitted to being an admirer of Jake Trueman - but refused to be drawn on speculation linking the Castleford Tigers halfback with a move to the club.

Trueman is understood to be extremely close to finalising a move to the MKM Stadium in what will be one of the biggest signings ahead of 2023.

Clark spoke to BBC Humberside in the build-up to their game with Super League champions and was asked directly about rumours linking the club with the young star.

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In response, he said: "That's probably for somebody else to announce. But what I will say is that Jake Trueman is a very talented footballer and a 23-year-old English halfback is going to command a lot of attention. There's no surprise we've been linked and dare I say others have been linked."

Clark was speaking wider about the club's recruitment policy, hinting at the manner of signing Black and White fans can come to expect moving forward.

"It's a long-term project for us and Adam (Pearson) has said in the press, our immediate priority is to stabilise the club. We've lost an awful lot of money through Covid and we need to encourage our members back and we have to keep the club alive and that's our immediate focus, but we want to remain competitive on the pitch.

"You'll probably get to see a little bit more of a glimpse into that strategy through some of our recruitment. It very much centres around young, homegrown players and you've seen a glimpse of that with our Centre of Excellence, the new training facility and Denive (Balmforth) making his debut. That's an idea of where we're heading but you won't get raucous statements from us. We want to be consistent and