Our daily blog of transfer rumours from the press as Hull City prepare for life in the Premier League.
Hull City are close to agreeing terms with Celtic on Gary Hooper but also yesterday increased their offer to Burnley for Charlie Austin.City will look to push both Celtic and Burnley into completing a deal before the weekend - making it clear they will not sign both.
Assuming a deal is done for either player, City will then look to add another striker through the loan market in the coming weeks.
Rumours this morning that City have been given permission to talk to Austin have yet to be confirmed.
The Tigers remain hopeful of signing Austin, but Stoke City's interest could upset the applecart.
The Stoke Sentinel's Martin Baggeley says Austin could be a good fit at the Britannia.
"It's safe to assume that Austin's goalscoring rather than his bricklaying skills would interest Hughes.
"The striker has scored 82 goals in 155 league games for Swindon and Burnley since the Robins snapped him up from Poole Town four years ago.
"He's only 23 so could be the right age for Stoke to complete a deal."
Meanwhile, Norwich remain interested in Hooper and will put in a £4.5m bid, according to The Sun, which claims the former Scunthorpe man would prefer the Canaries over the Tigers.
The signing of former Rangers stopper Allan McGregor has been confirmed today. He will join City for £1.8m from Besiktas.Mark Oxley will now head out on loan to Oldham, according to Sky Sports. Oxley is set to sign a six-month loan with City having a 24-hour recall clause in the deal.
Norwich City striker Grant Holt continues to be linked with a move north, but there has been no official approach from City. Richard Dunne - put forward by The Daily Mail as a potential Bruce target - is wanted by Blackburn Rovers, according to the Lancashire Telegraph.
Here's one just for discussion: who should The Tigers look at on the loan front? Squawka.com has started the rumour mill turning by putting forward five names it thinks would boost Bruce's survival prospects.
Liverpool's attacking midfielder Jonjo Shelvey - wanted by Swansea - and Arsenal's promising 21-year-old full-back Carl Jenkinson are interesting shouts, but it is surely pie in the sky to suggest Manchester United midfielder Anderson and Manchester City's dangerous winger Scott Sinclair would move to the KC.
So, how about another Blues prospect John Guidetti? The 21-year-old Swedish striker scored 20 goals in 23 appearances on loan at Feyenoord a couple of seasons back, and Squawka suggests a link-up with Bruce could see him enjoy a breakout season. Guidetti was linked with Sunderland last month.Crazy Twitter talk: Those Adam Le Fondre rumours have returned. The £3m-rated Reading striker scored 12 goals in Reading's relegation season, despite starting the majority of his 34 games on the bench. July 1
It's all about Charlie Austin this morning - and despite various claims Hull City have agreed a fee for the striker, Burnley are maintaining that nothing is doing ... yet.
Chris Boden, chief football writer at the Burnley Express, has spoken to the club's joint-chairman John Banaszkiewicz this morning and confirms nothing has been agreed - "although interest is picking up by the day".
Banaszkiewicz says: "We're trying our best to keep him and have offered him a very good contract - he's a terrific goalscorer and we've tried to see the best deal the club can offer him. It might not be enough to keep him, but we'll see."
The Clarets add from their official Twitter account: "Contrary to media reports, Burnley Football Club has not agreed any deal with Hull City for striker Charlie Austin".
Stoke could yet hijack a deal for Austin, according to today's Daily Star, which claims Sunderland are also interested. Burnley - playing hardball in the hope of bringing in £5m for their 23-year-old hotshot - will only say they have had communication with a number of clubs.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Allan McGregor is set to arrive from Besiktas before the start of pre-season training on Thursday. Full story on McGregor here.
Sources say City have also made "steady progress" over the past week in negotiations for Celtic striker Gary Hooper.
Those Richard Dunne rumours have surfaced again. The Daily Mail says Steve Bruce admires the former Aston Villa free agent.
Despite his undoubted experience at centre-back, fans will wonder if Dunne can overcome injury problems that kept him out of the whole of last season. However, the 33-year-old was back in the Irish national side this summer and could prove a shrewd buy. Derby are also said to be interested.
Back to goalkeepers, and The Sun drops Scott Carson's name into its list of Hull City targets today. The former Liverpool stopper is currently playing for Bursapor.Darren Bent remains keen on a move to Newcastle, according to The Telegraph, but will seek reassurances that Alan Pardew is staying on Tyneside. City have also been linked with the former England striker but, as reported yesterday, Villa have yet to receive a single bid.Crazy Twitter talk:Gedo will fly in for talks today, and City will sign Aussie striker Scott McDonald from Middlesbrough, according to the imaginative world of micro-blogging.More to follow. Check back shortly for all today's transfer talk.June 30
As we all know, rumours have a life of their own, and after yesterday's Twitter speculation on a Hull City move for Grant Holt, today The Sun and The Star both confidently claim Steve Bruce is in pole position to sign the Norwich striker.
Holt, 32, could be snared for just £2m, according to The Sun, and offers proven Premier League experience - even if his impact last season was modest. He is also keen to be based in the north to be closer to his family in Cumbria (if you're asking how Hull is now close to Cumbria, that's the national media for you) and would not balk at City's pay structure.
All in all, a good squad addition? Well, it's fair to say opinion is split. Here's one response from Twitter: "No offence, but I'd rather bring Deano out of retirement".Darren Bent has been persistently linked with a move to the KC, along with Newcastle, Fulham and Crystal Palace. But The Sun reports Villa have yet to receive a single offer for the former England striker, 29. It seems everyone is happy to play a waiting game right now in the hope Villa will drop their £8m price tag towards the end of the transfer window.
Two shouts from today's People: Stoke City have joined the race for striker Carlton Cole, and Nottingham Forest are preparing a £4m bid for Burnley's Charlie Austin. Something tells us Forest will have to do better than that! Burnley boss Sean Dyche has made it VERY clear that no club has yet met the Clarets valuation of Austin - believed to be closer to £5m - and their standoff with the Tigers continues.
Here's Burnsy's take on Austin this morning, via Twitter: "I'm hearing #hcafc closing in on Austin; Mcgregor tomorrow?; no go on Huddlestone at mo; £2m Pl midfielder who?; Hooper unlikely; striker?"
Goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon is holding talks with Manchester City over his future this weekend, according to Clubcall, which believes Steve Bruce is ready with a £4m bid for the 6ft 8in Romanian.
More on Jozy Altidore: The former City striker has told NASN he is ready to build on his Premier League experience in 2009-10.
"I have played 100-plus games (since leaving Hull). Playing there at that age and playing in the best league in the world, you can't expect to hit the ground running," he said.
"Some of my performances at Hull were not as bad as people think, some of them were actually pretty good.
"I don't look back at it as a sad experience. It was a great experience because I got to see what the highest level was like."
The USA international is expected to fetch between £4m and £7m for his Dutch club AZ Alkmaar - which would make him something of a gamble - but his performances last season suggested he could be a real handful for top-level defences - and he is still only 23.Crazy Twitter talk: Leaving aside today's campaign to bring Dele Adebola back to the club (sarcasm isn't dead then? #TheAdebolaRevolution), names in the 140-character frame include goalkeeping prospect Simon Moore from Brentford - a 23-year-old with four "caps" for the Isle of Wight. But our favourite silly rumour of the day has to be Assem Allam selling his shipping company to fund the release cause for £52m Edinson Cavani! Well, we can all dream.June 29
Celtic continue to fret over Gary Hooper.
Captain Scott Brown has joined boss Neil Lennon's calls for Hooper to have another crack at the Champions League, rather than move to Hull City - the Glasgow Evening Times reports today.
Brown says: "What Gary's done for us in the last two or three seasons has been incredible.
"I hope he stays. But, at the end of the day, it is up to him and the club.
"After what we did last season, someone is always going to come in and have a go at buying one or two of our players."
Bruce is hoping 31-goal Hooper will spearhead his Tigers in the Premier League - but may have to pay £5m-plus. Norwich also remain interested, according to the Daily Mail.
Speculation continues today about a possible City bid for Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone.
The Mirror says Steve Bruce is "keeping an eye on developments" as Sunderland negotiate a £5m move for the former England midfielder.
Galatasaray will resist City's attempts to sign Moroccan winger Nordin Amrabat, says Clubcall.com.
Amrabat - who can play on either wing - impressed during the Turkish giants' run to the Champions League quarter-finals and would be a fine complement to Ahmed Elmohamady, who signed permanent terms with City yesterday.
Initial reports suggested the 26-year-old could be available on a loan basis - because Turkish teams are allowed to field only a limited number of foreign players. Any permanent deal would likely cost upwards of £7m.
More on the Charlie Austin saga: Burnley boss Sean Dyche has again rubbished reports a deal with City is close.
"There's been no agreement reached," he told the Burnley Express. "The noises are just the same because there's people hovering and clubs interested but nothing is appropriate for us at this time so he's getting on with pre-season for us.
"There's no reason to think any different until it becomes any different."
However, the Clarets would still be willing to let Austin go - for the right offer.
"We want to keep the best players at the club but there is that reality with the financial situation that we have to work within," said Dyche. "We're just monitoring it as it unfolds ... Charlie has come back in good shape and he's looking to crack on."Jozy Altidore says he is a "different player" to the young striker who made his Premier League debut for Hull City in 2009.
The USA internatial scored just one goal in 28 appearances for the Tigers - but has since resurrected his career with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.
Quoted on the Chronicle Live website, Altidore said: "I think I was 19 or just turned 20 and I had not played in Europe before that. I have come a long way since then. I am almost a different player and I have learned a lot."
Altidore, who scored 31 goals last season, is reportedly a £7m target for Sunderland.
"It would be a pleasure to play in a league like that again," he said.Crazy Twitter talk: Should Bruce sign Grant Holt? The Norwich striker - who scored eight goals in 34 Premier League appearances last term - has been cool on speculation he is set to sign for Crystal Palace and is thought to fancy a move up north. Holt is valued at £4m, but a source close to the player told yesterday's Croydon Advertiser he could be available for less.
