£3m Hull City star plotting MKM Stadium exit amid Tigers transfer uncertainty | OneFootball

Hull could be set to lose another key figure this summer.

Hull City star Gustavo Puerta is reportedly looking for a move to Spanish football this summer, with his Tigers future firmly up in the air as a result of the club's ongoing transfer restriction uncertainty.

Hull began their 2025/26 Championship campaign with a 0-0 draw away at Coventry City on Saturday.

It's been a summer of confusion and uncertainty in East Yorkshire, with the club slapped with transfer restrictions for the next three windows, as a result of mounting up over 30 days of late transfer fee payments.

As such, the Tigers have seen a number of important players depart the MKM Stadium this summer, with the likes of Steven Alzate, Alfie Jones and Sean McLoughlin all making their respective exits.

Gustavo Puerta searching for Hull City move

Hull could be set to lose another one of their star players in the coming days too.

That's because a report from journalist Alan Nixon reporting via Patreon on Sunday has claimed that midfielder Gustavo Puerta is searching for an escape route out of the club, with a move to Spain reportedly being where he has his heart set on.

Puerta, 22, initially joined the Tigers on a season-long loan deal from German giants Bayer Leverkusen last summer, but after triggering a clause in his contract, made the move to the MKM a permanent one in mid-April, or so he thought.

It was stated at the time that Hull had forked out around £3m to secure the Colombian's services on a permanent basis, which came as a result of him making the necessary number of starts to see this permanent clause triggered.

However, upon releasing their squad numbers ahead of the 25/26 campaign, it was revealed that Puerta - who had worn the number 20 shirt last season - was not handed a number.

Hull Live have, whilst also detailing their deal involving Reda Laalaoui hitting a stumbling block with the EFL too, confirmed that Puerta's permanent move has not gone through.

With Hull currently being restricted to only signing free agents or loan players that don't include any sort of fee being paid by Hull, Nixon reports that this ruling has left Puerta's future at the club in a state of limbo, given the fact he was a permanent signing with a significant aforementioned transfer fee involved.

After a strong debut campaign with Hull last season, Puerta firmly established himself as an important player at the MKM.

It's also evidently been the hope of Hull City that the Colombian would become a key part of their future too, but due to their complex and ongoing transfer issues, that may not be the case.

Should Puerta see his permanent move to the club collapse this summer, then Sergej Jakirovic's midfield options will become fairly limited.

John Lundstram will bring some experience and pedigree to that department, but with Matt Crooks and Kasey Palmer more attack-minded midfielders, Regan Slater is the only other natural defensive-minded midfielder in the senior side.

Therefore, should injuries and suspensions begin playing their part in the season - which they always tend to do - City could be left extremely thin on the ground in the heart of midfield should Puerta, and indeed Laalaoui, fail to see their permanent moves go through this summer.