Hull City told key man is worth more than £10m - "he's not for sale" as Sheffield United & Coventry City circle | OneFootball

New Sheffield United boss Ruben Selles is looking to raid the Tigers for one of their top talents

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sheffield United have reportedly enquired about the availability of young Hull City centre-back Charlie Hughes.

That’s according to Sheffield Star journalist Danny Hall, who confirmed that the Blades were put off the chase by the Tigers’ valuation of the defender.

United are now led by former Hull boss Ruben Selles, who knows all about Hughes and has a good relationship with the player, but the Tigers seem unwilling to entertain anything but a big-money move.

Coventry City are also said to be considering a club-record move.

We asked our Hull fan pundit, Cameron Gibson, what Hull should be demanding for Hughes, and whether they should let him go.

Hughes backed to remain at Hull unless big Premier League bid comes in

Speaking to Football League World, Cameron said: “Even if a bid came in now for £10million, I wouldn't even blink at it.

“He's worth more than that, and he's going to be worth a lot more than that.

“We can compare Jacob Greaves to Charlie Hughes, who's a recent young English centre-back who’s gone on to the Premier League, and we sold him for £17m.

“And I think Charlie Hughes has a higher ceiling than Jacob Greaves, so you're talking figures that a Championship side aren't going to make for a centre-back.

“So, unless a Premier League outfit comes in for him and offers something over £20m, I don't think we'll consider it, and I definitely wouldn't consider it.

“I'm not surprised that a lot of teams are sniffing around Charlie Hughes; Coventry have had a go, Sheffield United have had a go.

“But that doesn't mean he's going to leave Hull City.

“We’ve got [Joe] Gelhardt coming in, who is his best mate, we’ve added experience into the line-up.

“We're going to get [Oli] McBurnie over the line, we've had [John] Lundstram come in, got the exciting [Joel] Ndala on loan from Man City, I think he's going to be an exceptional talent.

“So it's all positive at Hull City, really. I don't know why he'd really want to leave.

“I think maybe if it happened at the beginning of the window, when all the bad news was coming through, then maybe he might consider it.

“But as things stand, I think Hull City are in a good place, and we're in an even better place if we manage to keep Charlie Hughes.

“I don't think we're interested. Well, I'm definitely not interested, and I'm certain that Acun [Ilicali] won’t be.

“It's just down to the manager, and from what I'm gathering from local radio today, he’s not for sale.”

Holding Hughes would show big ambition from Hull

Were a big Premier League team to come in with a bid at the level Cameron suggests, it would be difficult to turn down both financially and for the sake of the player.

But the Tigers must avoid selling to a division rival if possible, especially considering, as Cameron suggests, that a Championship side is unlikely to want to pay Hughes’ full value for a defender.

The Blades are in need after their sale of Anel Ahmedhodzic, but that isn’t Hull’s concern.

Given their 21st-placed finish last term, Hull would do well to be challenging United next season, but if they are ever going to scale the table, they need to be able to fend off interest from fellow Championship sides.

Hughes signed a four-year deal last summer, with the option of an additional year, so the club have no need to sell, especially not to another second-tier side.