Hull City must resist making West Ham transfer mistake again | OneFootball

The Tigers' cannot afford to sanction the exit of yet another highly-rated performer this late in the January window

Hull City are riding the crest of a wave in the Championship right now, with Sergej Jakirovic and his team giving supporters in East Yorkshire every reason to believe that the 'impossible' might just be possible.

Not even many of the most optimistic Tigers supporters could have foreseen the club, who had only just escaped a disastrous relegation to League One on goal difference last term, sitting just five points behind the automatic promotion places with a game in hand after 28 games played.

It has been a remarkable short-term transformation in East Yorkshire, with City's head coach and players even able to bat away the adversity of several injuries to first-team regulars and the well-documented pre-season sanction of a two-window transfer fee restriction.

Despite only being able to acquire the services of new players on free transfers and on loan deals in which no extra fees are required by a new signing's parent club as part of the deal, as well as it then needing to be fully ratified by the English Football League, the culture which Jakirovic and his chargers have generated has allowed plenty of his squad to continuously bring the best versions of themselves onto the pitch.

Such feats were on show yet again in the past week as City swatted all of Southampton, Preston North End and Swansea City aside to hit the 50-point mark, one better than their overall tally last term.

Yet, despite being in a limited position when it comes to acquiring new players, there hasn't been the greatest deal of talk when it comes to any crucial players leaving the MKM Stadium.

However, with Marc Guehi recently exiting Crystal Palace for Manchester City, 22-year-old Charlie Hughes has been viewed as a potential successor to the England international at Selhurst Park. But, in order to maintain their current form, City must resist any late offers that could come their way.

Hull City cannot afford to sell Charlie Hughes at present amid Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough talk

It has been evident ever since a £3.5m deal was struck between the Tigers and Wigan Athletic in August 2024 just how important Hughes' presence has been at the heart of defence.

The former England Under-20s international had attracted Premier League interest from Brentford and West Ham in the lead-up to his eventual move from the Brick Community Stadium, and has played with a continued sense of maturity, composure and leadership alongside the likes of Alfie Jones - now of Middlesbrough and the experienced John Egan.

Hughes, unsurprisingly, scooped two awards at the Tigers' end-of-season ceremony last term, including the club's Young Player of the Year, and it was also no great deal of surprise when exit talk began to surround the defender due to City's aforementioned limitations in the market.

However, the club were able to stick to their guns and block three attempts from Coventry City and a swoop from Sheffield United - who were then managed by former Hull boss, Ruben Selles - and they have been the clear beneficiaries from such circumstances this term.

Hughes has continued to look assured with the ball at his feet, which has allowed the Tigers to progress quickly through the thirds under Jakirovic, as well as adding two further goal contributions to his tally, which included a sublime pass for Joe Gelhardt's winner against Portsmouth on November 8th and a well-timed header against Southampton earlier this month.

Football League World had exclusively revealed that Middlesbrough were eyeing up a potential move for Hughes before Palace's own interest surfaced last week.

However, it is clear why City value him north of £20m, with Jakirovic previously stating: "So (in) my opinion, anything below his value we don’t need to speak at all. I will not even pick up the phone because he’s very good, and for me, his next move is to the Premier League, not the Championship."

As previously stated, though, this is not the time for the Tigers to be dreaming of a large cash windfall and profit, as they hope to learn from their well-documented plight six years ago which followed yet another eight-figure sale.

Hull City must learn from 2020 Jarrod Bowen, West Ham sale amid Charlie Hughes speculation

Much like Hughes, Jarrod Bowen had showcased a current ability and future potential that deserved a Premier League move throughout a three-year breakthrough at the MKM Stadium.

The England international had managed to hit double figures in terms of goals in his two full seasons as a first-team regular, before also scoring 16 goals in the first half of the 2019/20 campaign as Hull sat eighth on New Year's Day 2020 after a 1-0 success over Sheffield Wednesday, which saw the Leominster native also score the last of his 54 goals in black and amber in the process.

It was inevitable that a Premier League move was calling for the winger, who was also out-of-contract at the end of the season - a situation which left the Tigers with a major dilemma to consider.

Despite enduring a frustrating January 2020 in terms of results, the play-off positions were still in relative reach, until the club agreed a £22m deal with West Ham, where Bowen also remains a cult hero due to his current status as captain and an array of crucial goals for the East London side.

However, the timing of the agreement, as well as a lack of a high-quality replacement, as proven by the lack of overall contributions made by Martin Samuelsen, James Scott and Marcus Maddison, saw the Tigers plummet down the Championship standings, ending the season bottom on 45 points.

Of course, the current squad has already surpassed that tally. But, the overarching point still remains, that City could leave themselves extremely short in terms of depth if an offer for Hughes was to be accepted in the latter stages of the window, with Cathal McCarthy also attracting interest from a plethora of suitors for his own performances at just 19 years of age.