Hull City join European transfer battle for West Brom player | OneFootball

Okay Yokuslu has been linked with a move to the MKM Stadium

Hull City have been linked with a move for West Bromwich Albion midfielder Okay Yokuslu.

That's according to an update from Turkish journalist, Yağız Sabuncuoğlu of Sports Digitale, who claims that the Tigers have begun their pursuit of the international midfielder, who has been an extremely consistent performer throughout his two spells in the West Midlands.

Both City and West Brom were close to achieving their ambitions last season, with the Tigers falling three points short of Albion, who secured a play-off spot on the final day of the campaign at the Tigers' expense.

That wasn't enough to see Liam Rosenior maintain his position in the dugout at the MKM Stadium, and the rebuilding task facing new boss Tim Walter has been laid bare for all to see, with a number of high-profile players already departing or expected to depart imminently.

However, the potential addition of the Türkiye international would once again prove City's ambitions under his compatriot, Acun Ilicali, even if expectations within the fanbase have been somewhat tempered.

As referenced above, Yağız Sabuncuoğlu has revealed early on Wednesday afternoon that the Tigers are the latest club to be pursuing a deal for the 30-year-old central midfielder, having seen his name linked with plenty of other potential suitors since the beginning of the summer transfer window.

Besiktas are perhaps the most prominent side in this particular transfer saga, with it also being reported earlier on Wednesday that the Süper Lig giants are close to striking an agreement with West Brom, which could see him move on a three-year contract if the financial details of the transfer are to be agreed between the two clubs.

Trabzonspor, who also acquired the services of former City midfielder Ozan Tufan for a reported £1.7m fee earlier on in the window, were another side credited with interest in a potential return to Papara Park for Yokuslu, who previously made 106 appearances for the club earlier on in his career.

Okay Yokuslu's performances in the Championship

The anchoring midfielder has been an extremely consistent performer since returning to The Hawthorns under Steve Bruce in August 2022 after a previous spell of 16 appearances on loan in the club's last Premier League campaign of 2020/21.

Under Carlos Corberan though, Yokuslu has so often been the man capable of linking Albion's solid defence to the attack in such composed fashion, in an extremely similar vein to that of Hull's Jean Michael Seri.

Featuring in 44 of Albion's regular season outings - and starting 41 of those - last season, Aside from his solitary goal and assist, Yokuslu showcased a great passing range and was rarely beaten in the midfield battle, averaging 1.1 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 4.7 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, as well as only being dribbled past 0.5 times on average.

These performances rightfully earned him a spot in Vicenzo Montella's squad for the European Championships, where he went under the radar compared to the likes of Real Madrid sensation Arda Güler, before Türkiye were defeated by England's upcoming semi-final opponents, the Netherlands, in Berlin.

Yokuslu deal would have to represent a smart price for Hull City

With the midfielder out-of-contract next summer, this represents the B71 club with one of two windows at present where they can make any profit on their incoming from two summers ago.

Yokuslu's estimated salary is also £25,000 per week, and it remains to be seen whether Hull would commit to such costs for an ageing but quality midfielder, especially when the aforementioned Seri has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League.

Ilicali has also placed on record that Hull cannot spend approximately £20m like they did in last season's two windows, meaning that the shrewd acquisition of the Turk would most likely be a minimal fee in comparison to previous transfers under his ownership - although the sales of Jaden Philogene and Jacob Greaves are going to balance the books somewhat and give more room to manouevre.