"It'll be absolute madness" - Hull City urged to seal "bargain" midfielder transfer | OneFootball

The Tigers have a clear decision to make over triggering the midfielder’s buy clause

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more... Oscar Zambrano can return to playing football in November this year, following a reduction to his doping ban, but it leaves Hull City with a question.

The Tigers must now decide whether to make Oscar Zambrano’s loan move from LDU Quito permanent by the middle of next month.

He made just eight appearances for Hull prior to the issuing of his ban, which will now expire in early November, scoring one and assisting one during that time.

We asked our Hull City fan pundit, Ryan Frankish, whether the club should look to use their option to buy.

Hull urged to take option over Zambrano

Speaking to Football League World, Ryan said: “I think it'll be absolute madness if Hull City don't trigger Oscar Zambrano’s clause for us to buy him.

“Because the rumoured number is £1.5m. I think that is an absolute bargain for what we'll get.

“You've got to remember, the January prior to his move to Hull City, he was getting linked with Manchester United and Bournemouth.

“We assume that those links didn't come to fruition because of the lingering doping ban that we pretty much fell for and took the risk with.

“But now, that's all passed. There's nothing lingering over his head. He’s a professional footballer.

“He'll be able to get back to match speed within a month. It's not like he's not going to be training on this off period. He's a very talented footballer.

“For example, say we do sign him, if we have him in the team, we could be able to, I believe, anyway, double our money in January.

“I hope we don't have that business model, I hope we actually keep him, nurture him and make him dominate our midfield.

“But there is no loser in this scenario of us signing him. It would not make sense to me why we wouldn't.”

Rewards on offer for Hull gamble

Given the numbers Zambrano managed to post in his short time with the club, it would seem likely the decision-makers at the MKM Stadium will want to see more.

They clearly have faith in Zambrano, having brought him over from Ecuador in the first place, but have yet to get a consistent look at him after his ban arrived only eight games into his Hull stint.

It’s a market that has proved fruitful for clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion, who plucked Moises Caicedo from the same league, in the same position, before selling him on for a British record £115m.

The chances of Zambrano hitting those heights are remote, but it shows the sorts of rewards that can be on offer if such a gamble pays off.

He has shown enough to warrant some interest from Hull, and supporting him through his ban should strengthen the bonds between the club, the player and the fans, much as it did with Sandro Tonali at Newcastle United when he was banned.

If it works within the financial structure, this deal is the sort that Hull should be going after, partly to boost their own squad but also the potential to boost their future budgets.

If the Tigers don't take the gamble, somebody else probably will, which would make it all the more painful if he does end up kicking on in English football.