Daily transfer rumours from the press as Hull City prepare for life in the Premier League.
A few agents were probably sent into a spin this morning with wide-of-the-mark reports that Steve Bruce was being lured to Wigan. And with City dismissing the stories, Bruce can settle back to an inbox full of transfer business when he gets back from holiday this week.
And a goalkeeper continues to be his first priority - and a tricky one to judge. Today reports in Turkey say a £1.8million deal between the Tigers and former Rangers keeper Allan McGregor is as good as done. And McGregor's club Besiktas are lining up a replacement in Arsenal's second choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Meanwhile the only other club in the frame for McGregor, West Ham, have just signed Real Betis keeper Adrian on a three-year deal. Leicester may be getting a little nervous they asked for £4.5million for as the club could do with the cash to help Nigel Pearson rebuild.
It's safe to say Bruce will have a look at Burnley midfielder Chris McCann. McCann seems to be fairly confident about picking up a Premier League club after quitting Burnley and has held initial talks with City. But whether there is a place for him at City is a different matter. His Premier League experience was limited to seven games in the 2009/10 season.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail suggests City are close to securing the future of defender James Chester. The 24-year-old centre half has been discussing improved terms on a four-year contract and is likely to put pen to paper in the next few days, according to that report.
And crazy twitter claim of the day? Titus Bramble joining City next week. Well he did play for Bruce at Wigan and Sunderland....June 4
The big news today is Hull City's move for Wigan's Maynor Figueroa. You can find that story in the Hull Daily Mail and on this site.
But there are still a few other names being linked to City today.
The first is free agent Chris McCann is a target for Hull City, according to the Burnley Express.
The former Burnley midfielder, 25, is said to be attracting interest from City and fellow promotion outfit Crystal Palace. The Dubliner made 269 appearances for Burnley over nine years, scoring 31 goals.
McCann decided against signing a new deal with Burnley, hoping for a return to the Premier League. His previous outing in the top flight, in season 2009/10 with Burnley, was cut short by injury.
The Ireland squad continues to be of interest to Steve Bruce with three of his squad involved and potentially more for the future.
Veteran defender Richard Dunne is now a free agent and despite an injury plagued season which saw him freed by Aston Villa, Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni believes he has still got what it takes after he came on as a sub against Georgia. He is expected to feature him for Ireland's continuing World Cup qualifying campaign. It's unlikely Dunne, 33, will remain without a club for long and although central defenders are not a priority for Bruce, he may be tempted by Dunne's vast Premier experience.
Dunne told Irish broadcaster RTE: "Something will come up over the next while because I'd like to play for another few years if I can." City midfielder Stephen Quinn, who made his debut for Ireland in their easy win over Georgia, is a fan, describing Dunne as a "legend".
City's goalkeeping saga continues, this time with a rival emerging for City for Kasper Schmeichel's signature from Leicester. The Leicester Mercury reports that Swansea are considering a bid with former Denmark captain and Swansea boss Michael Laudrup looking at the Dane.
And it may just be mischief making, but with Ahmed Elmohamaday still to sign for the Tigers, Leicester are said by the Sunderland Echo to be interested in City's player of the year. Premier outfit Southampton are also said to be keeping a close eye on developments at the KC although City remain favourites to sign the player with a transfer already agreed with Sunderland.
Meanwhile, another player long-linked with City, Jordan Rhodes, is looking less likely to make any move. Blackburn managing director Derek Shaw told the Lancashire Telegraph he has received no bids for the striker who cost the club £8million last summer. And that may be where the problem lies, with Blackburn keen to recoup as much of that money as possible if their star striker, who has four years left on his contract, is to leave.June 3
Hull City are being linked again with Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley who will be told today to find a new club, with sources close to the player admitting to The Journal in Newcastle that they are "99% certain" that he has played his last game for Sunderland.
Hull City have been credited with an interest in the defender who courted controversy – and his new manager's anger – when pictures of him appeared covered in £50 notes at a casino.
The paper also reports that Paolo Di Canio could be ready to off-load fans' favourite Stephane Sessegnon and has already told one Premier club the play-maker could be available, a move which is likely to alert former Black Cat boss Steve Bruce as he prepares to enter the transfer market.
The speculation over City's future number one keeper remains in the news. In Turkey the daily Yenicag reports that City and Besiktas have agreed an "agreement in principle" over Scottish international and former Rangers star Allan McGregor but the Turkish management are keen to push for more than a proposed fee of £1.8million, significantly less than Leicester are holding out for City's other target Kasper Schmeichel.
Meanwhile, Joze Altidore, speculated about by City fans after a remarkable season with Dutch outfit AZ, was in the headlines again, this time ending an 11-game international drought with a fine strike in America's 4-3 friendly victory over Germany reports www.socceramerica.com.
The former Hull City loan striker is being strongly linked with a move away from Holland this summer.June 2
Even the transfer rumour mill has a quiet day on a Sunday but there's still some titbits out there of interest to Hull City
fans.
How about a return to Hull for former striker Jozy Altidore ? One piece by football writer Vincent Ralph at
hereisthecity.com says the American international may be an ideal fit for Steve Bruce's striking dilemma.
His previous outing at City didn't do much to impress - two goals in 30 appearances in 2009/10. But a move to Dutch outfit
AZ two years ago has seen a remarkable change in fortunes for the 23-year-old. He found the net 31 times in 41 appearances
for AZ last season, a strike rate which has seen him linked to Lazio.
His agent has confirmed interest from a number of clubs and with a price tag of around £4million the international could
move into City's radar. Watch this space.
Meanwhile City's first move is expected to be for a keeper with Leicester's Kasper Schmeichel and former Rangers
number one Allan McGregor both in the frame. City are in a fairly comfortable position. Leicester fans seem to be
reaching the conclusion that with pressure to balance the books it can't afford to drag out the Schmeichel negotiations
knowing City could poach McGregor fairly quickly.
The Northern Echo reports how Ahmed Elmohamady has the words of Steve Bruce "engraved on his brain" after the Hull City boss rescued him from the doldrums at Sunderland.
Elmohamady says he was "unfairly treated" at the Stadium of Light and believes success on loan with the Tigers is a vindication of his talents.
And he heaps praise on Bruce, who teammates joked was liked a "father" to the Egyptian winger.
Elmo says Bruce told him: "'To stay here, you have to be disciplined'.
"If you are 50 per cent a good player and 50 per cent disciplined it's better for me than being 90 per cent talented and 10 per cent disciplined. I took those words and now have them engraved on my brain."
City are hoping to complete a permanent deal for their player of the season after agreeing a £2m fee with the Black Cats.
Meanwhile, Talksport says West Ham could make a late move to hijack Hull's attempts to sign goalkeeper Allan McGregor from Turkish club Besiktas.
Bruce is interested in the former Rangers man but reports of a deal being agreed are premature, with the Tigers also showing firm interest in Kasper Schmeichel. As reported today, the Tigers have had an opening bid for the Danish international rejected by Leicester.
Burnley's Charlie Austin remains a target and there is cooler interest in Celtic's Gary Hooper - a link that has led to much gnashing of teeth north of the border this week - and West Brom's Peter Odemwingie.The Sun has listed City's top defensive target Maynor Figueroa in its "out-of-contract XI". The Currant Bun reckons the Wigan free agent is the best-value left-back on the market, but Steve Bruce will hope he can steal a march on potential suitors having signed Figueroa as Latics boss.
New contracts with Liam Rosenior, Paul McShane and Mark Oxley should be signed and sealed shortly, according to the club's communications manager Ash Lord.
He tweeted today: "They're all still on holiday/international duty. We'll release the news as they sign, just a matter of time.
"I don't think there's anything to worry about with them. Hopefully have some news early in the week."
