There's a lot of chatter out there about Gent striker Ilombe Mboyo and a possible move to Hull City.
Seems this one has more truth in it than the previous Belgian striker linked to City, Anderlecht's Dieumerci Mbokani, a couple of weeks ago.
Mboyo has turned Steve Bruce's head as the City boss looks for a new striking set up (just don't look at the penalty miss on YouTube). But now a move by Anderlecht to sign Mboyo, reported in the Belgian press, seems to have scuppered a possible deal. Ironically Anderlecht want someone to replace the departing Mbokani.
An easy move to Belgian champions Anderlecht and the prospect of Champions League football looks too big a draw for Mboyo, so Bruce is likely to concentrate on other targets. Not dead in the water yet though.
Other striking options, according to reports, include Carlton Cole, who the Sun says is now in talks with Hull City about a move. Cole spent seven years with West Ham and managed to reach 10 goals in two of his Premier League seasons and 15 when West Ham dropped into the Championship. QPR are also in the frame, with Cole keen to stay in London.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph report that Birmingham defender Curtis Davies is as good as on his way to Hull after a £2.25m fee was agreed between the clubs. But one final hurdle may remain - the switch of City defender Jack Hobbs. Hobbs' move may be complicated by his new Premier League wage packet, triggered by promotion.
The Scottish press always entertain – remember the "Hull's good if you're a fisherman" interview with Celtic legend Bertie Auld? Now another Celtic favourite has joined in.
Former captain Tom Boyd makes some, er, interesting comments on Hull City target Gary Hooper in the Scottish Express.
Boyd, who still holds influence at Celtic, insists Hooper should stay at Celtic, because the Premier League isn't good enough. "I watched a lot of Premier League games last year and even the top teams were pretty poor," says Boyd, perhaps ignoring some obvious raised eye-brows about the current state of Scottish football.
He says Hooper would be better staying in Scotland to play for Celtic in the Champions League.
Boyd said: "Financially the players would obviously get a massive boost by moving to England. But in terms of playing for a massive club like Celtic, playing on the biggest stage in the Champions League – the best competition in football – there's no contest."
That may be the case but Celtic don't qualify automatically for the Champions League. Last season they played distinctly unglamorous Helsinki and Helsingborgs before actually qualifying. And this season they will have a third qualifying tie to negotiate before making the League proper. By the time Celtic make it through - if they make it through - Hull City will have already played Chelsea and Man City in the Premier League.
Mind you Boyd also believes Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama is worth £25m, two years after the promising player was bought by Celtic for £900,000.
As reported, Hooper is one of Bruce's two top strike targets with Burnley's Charlie Austin.
As our man Phil Buckingham reports today, the Tigers are closing in on Austin's signature, with the two clubs understood to be just £500,000 apart in the valuations of the 24-year-old hotshot.
The Lancashire Telegraph reports this morning that Burnley are considering interest from a number of other clubs - but a deal looks likely by the end of the week.
City are also expected to complete a £1.8m deal for former Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor from Besiktas.June 19
Goalkeepers are like buses: wait seasons for one to come along and then half a dozen are queuing up at the same time.
The Irish Independent today reports that Hull City are monitoring Ireland goalkeeper David Forde as they weigh up options as the Kasper Schmeichel deal starts to fall apart. We had reported the link yesterday but the Independent goes further, stating Steve Bruce was "hugely impressed by Forde's form" for both Millwall and Ireland last season.
However, our suspicion is a deal to bring Allan McGregor to the KC is almost done. The keeper is on holiday but talks have been on-going and he fits the bill for Bruce. He certainly won't be staying in Turkey and City are his favoured option.
Our Hull City reporter Phil Buckingham understands the Tigers have finally given up on Kasper Schmeichel after one final attempt to bring him to the KC earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph usually knows its figures. It reports today that City would have to raise £8m to persuade Aston Villa to part with Darren Bent. Villa are happy for the striker to leave but want to recoup a chunk of the £18m (!) they paid for Bent back in 2011. On top of wages of around £65,000 a week, that option looks way beyond what City would be happy to pay.
Sorry folks, no crazy twitter talk today as the tweets are too stacked with fixtures! But here's some reassuring news for Steve Bruce as the new season looms. He's listed as a 33/1 shot to lose his job in the new season, a huge vote of confidence from the bookies reflecting his popularity with the owners and fans at City. That places him alongside West Brom's Steve Clarke and Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers.
Compare that to poor Alan Pardew at Newcastle who is 2/1 to leave Newcastle before the season even starts.
