Turkish media mogul Acun Ilicali has his say on Mesut Ozil and Ryan Babel to Hull City links

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has ruled out signing Mesut Ozil and Ryan Babel this summer, despite growing media speculation linking the pair with a move to the MKM Stadium during the close season. Ozil has fallen out of favour with Ilicali’s boyhood club Fenerbahce with reports suggesting his contract with the Istanbul-based club will be terminated in the coming days following a disagreement.

Speculation then grew over the possibility of Ozil making a sensational move back to England and join Championship club City, having developed a close friendship with Ilicali in recent years. Babel meanwhile, was on City’s radar in January but the Dutch international opted to remain at the Nef Stadium and fight for his place though he is out of contract at the end of the current campaign.

“No, they are not coming," Ilicali told Hull Live. “Mesut is happy in Turkey. He’s a very good friend of mine and if he’s happy in Turkey, why should I ask him to come to England again?

"He’s just gone from England to Turkey and is having a good life there with his family. I’m sure that he will recover his problems with the team.

“On Ryan Babel, we talked to him in the wintertime. We had a chance to bring him to Hull City but the coach changed at Galatasaray and said ‘I’m going to play you’ so because of that, he stayed.

“I had received permission from Fatih Terim – he’s also a very good friend of mine – who was the coach of Galatasary and the president, too, but because of the new coach asking him to stay, he stayed and we respected him for that decision.”

City are expecting a busy summer as Ilicali looks to turn the Tigers from relegation candidates into a side capable of challenging at the other end of the Championship table. Ilicali expects as