“I have a dream” - Hull City player issues statement amid previous West Ham links | OneFootball

Hull City midfielder Ozan Tufan has revealed his thoughts on a Premier League move after being linked with joining West Ham United in the summer.

The Turkish international has been one of many key contributors to Liam Rosenior's Hull team this season. He is the club's joint top scorer (8) alongside former Republic of Ireland international Aaron Connolly, whose contract is up at the end of the season, as well as Jaden Philogene, who could also be on the move this summer if the club get promoted.

When The Tigers bought the winger from Aston Villa in the summer, for £5 million, there was a clause inserted that would allow Villa to buy Philogene back for £15 million if the two clubs ended up in the same league. Hull are only three points off the play-offs with a game in hand on Norwich City, who currently occupy sixth place in the Championship, but, even if they do win promotion, the club's owner, Acun Ilicali, is confident about keeping the winger at the MKM Stadium.

Claret & Hugh reported that the Hammers have shown interest in Hull's top-scoring midfielder, and Tufan has given his response to the links.

Ozan Tufan's response to West Ham move links

The midfielder was asked by Turkish network Sporx about the rumours of a potential summer move to West Ham. He said: "I love London very much. It is a place I enjoy very much. During my time at Watford, I used to go there all the time after training. Let’s see [what the future holds]."

The Turkish international played on loan at Vicarage Road for the first half of the 2021/22 season, before leaving parent club Fenerbahçe permanently at the end of that season to join the Tigers.

He also said that his ultimate goal is to end up playing in the top flight of English football, but that he'd most want to do it with his current club. "I have a dream. But, if I go [to the Premier League] with Hull, it will give me even more pleasure,"added the 29-year-old.

The owner of the Tigers was a big part of keeping Tufan at the club last January when he had a move back to Turkey lined up, and the 29-year-old has praised him for the work he does at the club. The midfielder said: "Acun [Ilicali] is like a brother to me, an older brother. I think he took the right steps in buying a team in the Championship. If his league dream comes true [to get promoted], everyone will be talking about him, the whole world will talk about it. He is a person who attaches great importance to football. He is a very good president."

Hull may struggle in play-offs if they get there

Rosenior has done a very good job to get a team that doesn't have a single player with double-digit goals for the season in to a play-off race, but it also doesn't bode too well for them.

The play-offs often come down to key moments of quality from one or two players. The team certainly has the players with the ability to do that, but their scoring record in this campaign suggests that they are lacking in this department, in comparison to the teams that they will be battling with.

Only one team in the current top 10 has scored fewer times this season than Hull have (53): Preston North End (49). Even a team like West Bromwich Albion, who are near the bottom of the league for shots on target per game (3.5), as per Sofascore, have found the back of the net six more times than the Tigers.

That ability to take chances in the opposition's box is something they haven't done particularly well this season, and it could be a reason why they come unstuck in a play-off run.