Hull City and Stoke will share same Mo Salah feeling | OneFootball

The Egyptian's career could have gone a different way had he signed for the Tigers or the Potters

Hull City and Stoke City are two clubs who can draw upon numerous similarities within the past 20 years.

The duo, for a start, currently find themselves in the Championship after lengthy respective exiles from the Premier League, with the Potters being relegated from the top-flight 12 months after the Tigers were under Marco Silva.

Indeed, the Staffordshire and East Yorkshire side were regular fixtures in the Premier League for almost a decade, having both been promoted to the newly-formed top-flight for the first time alongside each other back in 2007/08 under Tony Pulis and Phil Brown.

During a period of unparalleled relative success for both clubs, numerous high-profile names went on to grace the turf at both the MKM Stadium and Bet365 Stadium as the two clubs also made it to an FA Cup final each - losing to Manchester City and Arsenal respectively - which led to maiden stints in the UEFA Europa League also.

However, as they now find themselves competing for a play-off place in a second tier season that has been full of drama, supporters of both clubs will have, no doubt, been reminded of how they missed out on signing Egyptian sensation, Mohamed Salah, for a bargain fee, with the forward dominating headlines once more.

After being relegated from the Premier League in 2009/10, Hull found themselves in a state of financial ruin after significantly overspending in their first two seasons of top-flight football.

That was until local businessman, Assem Allam, who moved to East Yorkshire in the 1960s amid major conflict in his native Egypt, fronted up the required cash to avoid the club being wiped from existence as they prepared for life back in the Championship.

As has since been the case with Acun Ilicali, who acquired the Tigers in January 2022, the Allams were not afraid to add hints of their culture within the club, and this certainly came to the fore during City's promotion-winning season of 2012/13 under Steve Bruce.

Bruce would acquire the services of long-serving right-wing-back Ahmed Elmohamady, who he had previously worked with at Sunderland, whilst experienced midfielder, Ahmed Fathi, and striker, Gedo, would arrive from Al-Ahly at the turn of 2013 to help bulk out the squad in an intense promotion battle.

At this point, Salah was still making his way in the game for Egyptian side, El Mokawloon, at just 20 years of age. But, sharing the same agent as Fathi and Gedo, word soon spread about the potential which the winger has since gone onto fulfill at length.

Indeed, in 2018, Craig Honeyman revealed to the Daily Mail that his services were courted by the Tigers and Stoke for a bargain sum of just £2.5m.

Off the top of my head, only Stoke and Hull showed any interest. (He) would have cost £2.5m," Honeyman stated.

Despite such revelations being well-known, particularly in Hull given the club's prior North African connections, Bruce stated in 2019 that a deal for the Liverpool ace never arose.

“I took a few from Egypt,” he said. “But I missed him.”

Hull City and Stoke City could only watch as Mo Salah took Premier League by storm

It has, of course, been well-documented what Salah has since gone on to achieve in a stellar career after moving to Europe.

He would, of course, move to Chelsea from FC Basel in 2014 for £11m but find it tough going at Stamford Bridge, before a resurrection in form at AS Roma caught the eye of the Merseyside outfit, who acquired his services for just £33.4m in 2017 under Jürgen Klopp.

The 33-year-old has become a modern-day great at Anfield, scoring well over 200 goals in more than 400 appearances across all competitions, whilst winning the Premier League twice in 2019/20 and in 2024/25 in Arne Slot's first season at the club, as well as the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19 at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite not being a natural centre-forward, Salah has also won the Golden Boot on four occasions, as well as being named African Player of the Year twice.

He would make headlines in December 2025, though, after controversial comments following a 3-3 draw with Leeds United sparked major discourse throughout the footballing world, with the aforementioned Elmohamady jumping to his defence amid criticism from Jamie Carragher on national television.