Hull City target high-profile goalkeeper recruit | OneFootball

Hull City are renewing interest in Vito Mannone, 12 years after his last spell at the club.

Highlights

Hull City are targeting veteran goalkeeper Vito Mannone, 14 years after his last spell at the club.

This is according to transfer guru Alan Nixon, who links Tim Walter's side to the Italian in his latest report about the Humberside club.

Having sold Ryan Allsop and Matt Ingram to Birmingham City and Oxford United respectively, the Tigers are clearly still looking to add to their goalkeeping ranks.

Mannone, currently contracted with Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille, has been used sparingly, making only six appearances at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium. A move to Hull could provide him with one last opportunity for first-team football, and his experience would make him a valuable addition to the club.

Vito Mannone to Hull City latest

As stated above, the Tigers have their eye on Mannone as they look to resolve their goalkeeping situation before their season opener against Bristol City next week.

Currently, they have Ivor Pandur, Timothee Lo-Tutala and Harvey Cartwright as all possible options, but none of them have ever played second-tier football before.

This is where a player like Mannone can come in and use his experience to his advantage. Given his stature and age, it would surely prove a relatively cheap deal to prize him out of Lille, with the French club having plenty of backup options from their academy.

In addition, with Capology estimating his wages to be around the £4,100 a week mark, it would prove to be a relatively cheap weekly deal for the Italian.

Of course, some may question whether he is still up to the level required, having only featured in 50 games in the past five seasons. But, his record in the Championship speaks for itself, with the former Arsenal keeper conceding just 99 goals in 80 second-tier appearances.

This could prove a useful deal for Walter then, who would hope that Mannone could bring some crucial experience to a relatively young side.

Hull can provide one last chance for Mannone

As of yet, there is no indication of whether Hull are trying to sign Mannone as their new number one or as a back-up.

In pre-season, we have seen Walter favour Pandur, with the 24-year-old playing the full 90 minutes against Reading on Saturday as they build up for next week. But, aged 24, he is still relatively inexperienced and could benefit from the support of someone like Mannone.

The Italian may not have always been the first choice at his clubs, but he boasts an impressive CV. Starting his career at Atalanta, he was signed by Arsenal in 2005 and has since played for teams such as Reading, Sunderland, and Monaco, among others.

A particular standout in these years was his 2013-14 Premier League campaign at the Stadium of Light, where he kept 12 clean sheets and conceded just 38 goals in 29 games for the Black Cats.

Mannone would be looking to replicate this sort of form then if he joined the Tigers, but would be wary about the emerging talent of Pandur.