Hull City are sitting on a £20m cash goldmine - Coventry City and Sheffield United know it | OneFootball

Charlie Hughes is predicted to make the Tigers plenty of profit

After the uncertainty of last summer, Hull City will be hopeful that their performances across the opening months of the Championship season will be enough to see them retain the services of their prized asset, Charlie Hughes, after previously intense interest.

Despite a controversial postponement of their crucial clash against Watford at the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon seeing them fall outside the play-off places, it cannot be understated how remarkable the short-term transformation of fortunes has been in HU3 under the management of Sergej Jakirovic.

The Tigers have surpassed all expectations placed upon them thus far, with several shrewd additions on free transfers or loan deals helping the Bosnian's side become one of the most clinical outfits in the division, despite the fact that, for a large portion of the campaign's early weeks and months, City's defensive statistics and trends were viewed, unsurprisingly, as unsustainable.

It has been a strong contrast to the severe underperformance of last term, where City struggled to find the back of the net under both Tim Walter and Ruben Selles, despite boasting a relatively strong defensive record that was key in ensuring a survival escape on goal difference last May.

However, a constant theme that has transferred between the spells of Walter, Selles and now Jakirovic is just how impressive Hughes has been in his first sustained spell of individual Championship football, having previously made 20 appearances at the level for Wigan Athletic in the 2022/23 season.

It has been evident, for some time, that the former England Under-20 international has the potential to make Acun Ilicali and the East Yorkshire club plenty of profit in the coming years, with City securing his services for what now seems a bargain £3.5m in August 2024.

As well as Ilicali, Jakirovic and supporters at the MKM knowing such facts, two of Hull's divisional rivals can also attest to the fact they are sitting on a major cash goldmine.

Coventry City and Sheffield United failed to take advantage of Hull City uncertainty in Charlie Hughes pursuits

Hughes has been tipped to eventually make the step-up into the Premier League for some time, having been linked with Brentford and West Ham United during his time at the Brick Community Stadium, before eventually moving to Hull on a long-term contract 18 months ago.

Tigers supporters have, of course, seen some of the country's most recently stellar defenders enhance their progression at the MKM Stadium, such as Harry Maguire and Andy Robertson of Manchester United and Liverpool.

It became apparent rather quickly just as to why many people tip Hughes to emulate those successes, becoming a 'rolls-royce' in terms of his aerial dominance and composure on the ball despite City's overall shortcomings last season.

Unsurprisingly, this led to the Wigan-born defender being named as Hull's Young Player of the Season, as well as winning Goal of the Season last term with a stunning and decisive header against Sheffield Wednesday.

Given the financial uncertainty which hung over the MKM in the summer after the club were hit with a two-window transfer fee restriction, immediate doubts were cast over the long-term future of City's prized asset.

Coventry City, who focused on strengthening their rearguard in Frank Lampard's first pre-season at the CBS Arena, saw three bids rejected for the defender, with the latter of those coming at a reported sum of £10m.

Sheffield United were also luckless with an ambitious transfer enquiry of their own in Selles' only transfer window at Bramall Lane before eventually signing former Millwall ace, Japhet Tanganga.

It remains to be seen if either of those two sides, or a club from the Premier League, will attempt to break the Tigers' previous resolve. However, Football League World can exclusively reveal that promotion-chasing Middlesbrough have set their sights, rather ambitiously, on the 22-year-old, whose efforts were key in frustrating Kim Hellberg's side in a 1-0 away success for Jakirovic's men at the Riverside Stadium on December 29th.

Hull City are sitting on £20m goldmine with Charlie Hughes

Despite coming in for minor criticism at some points earlier in the campaign, Hull's stance on Hughes is to remain the same given his current ability and future potential.

This means that, during a window in which cash doesn't always flow freely, any side would have to front up a sum north of £20m, which would make the defender one of the club's biggest-ever sales alongside current West Ham captain, Jarrod Bowen.

"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," Jakirovic said back in August.

His aforementioned attributes and versatile ability have been key to how the Tigers operate. And, whilst players will have to leave in order for Jakirovic to add reinforcements, City will see very little point in agreeing a high-profile exit at this point as, one, it could derail the campaign, and, secondly, the money can not be reinvested until the summer.