Our daily blog of transfer rumours from the press as Hull City prepare for life in the Premier League.
Hull City have stepped up their striker search with Sunderland's Danny Graham now at the top of Steve Bruce's wishlist.
As we report this morning, the Tigers are hopeful of agreeing a season-long loan deal for the former Swansea City man.
Today's Chronicle suggests the Black Cats would prefer to strike a permanent deal with City but are willing to let the 27-year-old leave on loan for now.
Gateshead-born Graham - Martin O'Neill's final signing - has struggled to established himself at the Stadium of Light since has £5m move from Wales in January and has failed to score in 13 appearances.
Bruce, meanwhile, fears Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner may be out of reach because - as we discussed here yesterday - City are unlikely to be able to guarantee his high wages. Still, a move has not been ruled out.
A third name doing the rounds is Evian's Yannick Sagbo. The pacy 25-year-old can play across the front line and would cost around £3.5m, according to the Daily Mail.
Sagbo was born in France but represents Ivory Coast. He boasts a scoring record of around one goal in every four games in the French top flight and has raised interest from West Ham and Tottenham in recent seasons.
Yesterday, we wondered if QPR "bad boy" Adel Taarabt might turn Bruce's head after his falling out with Harry Redknapp. Today, The Sun says the Tigers boss is read to take a gamble on the Moroccan playmaker.
The 24-year-old - disciplined after turning up late for Rangers training - "can supply some magic" for City, according to the Currant Bun, and could be available on a season-long loan deal. However, he is also attracting interest from the United Arab Emirates.Jack Hobbs looks set to leave the KC for Nottingham Forest, but may well sign on a season-long loan deal, according to the Nottingham Post. As our own Phil Buckingham reports this morning, Hobbs will not travel to Portugal with the Tigers, and a deal could be confirmed within the next 24 hours barring late problems.
Elswhere, Sunderland have dropped their interest in Tom Huddlestone after failing to agree a £5m fee with Tottenham, according to the Daily Mail, while QPR have upped their bid for Celtic's Gary Hooper to £5.5m after signing Richard Dunne on a one-year deal. All three players were linked with moves to City.Crazy Twitter talk: Those Jermaine Jenas rumours keep gathering momentum with multiple "sources" continuing to claim City have offered QPR £1.5m for the former England midfielder. The speculation dates back to a Daily Star article at the weekend which suggested the Tigers could turn to Jenas if they failed to land Wilson Palacios.July 15Nicklas Bendtner's transfer to Hull City could be on - because Arsenal are willing to split his wages - according to The Daily Mail.
The Danish striker could cost City £3m upfront but would command a salary of around £50,000 a week.
But the Gunners are so keen to offload him, they are willing to smooth a move by contrubuting £20,000 a week until the end of the season.
So, is Bendtner the answer to Bruce's striking conundrum? At first glance it looks like a tempting offer. However, the 25-year-old has struggled to make a breakthrough a Premier League level - despite his fine scoring record for Denmark - and his wage demands would threaten the carefully balanced budget the Allams have worked so diligently to maintain.
Bendtner has played almost as many games on loan as he has for Arsenal since joining the Gunners in 2005.
It has also been claimed he suffers from over-confidence - although his widely reported statement to the effect of being the world's best player was a misquote. What he actually said was: "For me confidence is so important. It's good to know I can go out on the field and feel I can take on the world."
Mind you an Arsenal psychologist did say that in squad self-confidence tests, Bendtner scored "11 out of 10".
Despite all that, Bruce though clearly likes Bendtner, having had him on loan twice at Birmingham City and Sunderland.
The City boss has said, however, that he has several irons in the fire when it comes to strikers, and according to Sky Sports he is chasing West Bromwich Albion outcast Peter Odemwingie, along with West Ham, Fulham and Sunderland.
That speculation is not new of course: The Nigerian is desperate to leave the Hawthorns - after famously failing to force a move to QPR in January - and West Brom are keen to get rid.
Odemwingie could be available for just £1.5m, but a move for the unhappy striker - who scored five times in 13 starts and 12 substitute appearances last season - would represent a gamble to say the least.
Here's a new name - Bologna striker Robert Acquafresca - linked earlier in the summer with a loan move to Sunderland. Milanese sports writer Tancredi Palmeri, of CNN and Gazetta Dello Sport, says today that City have made contact with the Italian club over a possible move for the 25-year-old, who has failed to make an impact in Serie A.
Meanwhile, Connor Sammon has dismissed rumours linking him with City and has pledged his future to Derby County, according to today's Irish Independent.
The Republic striker has thrived at international level under Giovanni Trappatoni, leading to speculation he could be ready to test himself in the Premier League.
Sammon said: "I haven't heard anything about that (Hull's interest) but I'm happy at Derby. I feel really settled here."
Watford's Troy Deeney - who almost single-handedly denied City a place in the Premier League with his late-season goal-scoring spree - is another option for Bruce, according to the Daily Mail.
Elsewhere, Richard Dunne, heavily linked with a move to the KC, could now be on his way to QPR, with talks confirmed, while Harry Redknapp is also set to up his bid for Gary Hooper to £5.5m - after Celtic rejected a lower offer. However, the former Tigers target prefers a move to Norwich, accoring to The Sun.
One deal that looks to be done: as we report this morning, City look set to agree a one-year deal with former Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper.Crazy Twitter talk:Adel Taarabt's QPR future is supposedly in doubt after the Moroccan midfielder turned up late for training. So, would Harry Redknapp sanction a move to City?July 14
So do you think Steve Bruce is a man to bear grudges? Well this one might test him. Across in Blackburn it seems striker DJ Campbell has become available, only two weeks after he was signed on a free. The People says new Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer is happy to let Campbell leave for nothing to free up his reported £1million a year wages.
We wonder if Bruce has forgiven Campbell for walking out on a deal to come to the KC last January when Blackburn gazumped their wage offer?
Meanwhile, Bowyer is also said to be lining up a £2million bid for Crewe's Max Clayton if prolific striker Jordan Rhodes, long linked to City, is poached.
Another man who caught City fans' eyes for the wrong reasons is also being linked to the Tigers. Troy Deeney, who scored a spectacular 20-yard strike when Hull City were beaten by Watford in April, is interesting Bruce according to the Sun on Sunday.
Deeney scored 20 goals last season for Watford in 43 games as well as chipping in with 10 assists.
He's not without some baggage though. In June 2012 Deeney was jailed for 10-months following a nightclub brawl in which he kicked a student in the head. He was freed after four months and says his spell in prison turned his life around.
One piece of good news for City fans is it appears the signing of Steve Harper is imminent. Reports from the North-East suggest the former Newcastle keeper will be in Hull tomorrow for a medical.
Some interesting news from Glasgow. Celtic manager Neil Lennon admits Gary Hooper may have played his last game for the Hoops after the former Scunthorpe striker failed to appear during their 3-0 defeat by Union Berlin on Friday, reports the Sunday Express. "It will be difficult to convince Gary to stay," said Lennon. The Mail on Sunday say QPR seem to be first in-line for Hooper's signature after Steve Bruce cooled his interest over Celtic's transfer demands.
Meanwhile the People say Bruce is keeping close tabs on his former club Sunderland with three players Phil Bardsley, Jack Colback and Lee Cattermole all available as Paolo Di Canio rings the changes. Di Canio would probably drive Bardsley to Hull. He left him in Sunderland to train with the kids while Sunderland headed to Italy for pre-season training.Crazy Twitter talk? If his pockets were only a little deeper, Steve Bruce might be tempted by this rumour. Spurs are willing to listen to offers for American striker Clint Dempsey apparently. But a minimum of £6million and big wages would be out of the Tigers' reach. Wouldn't they?
