"Fantastic" - Hull City: Matt Crooks, Harry Kane comparison made as Tigers close in on transfer | OneFootball

Matt Crooks is on the cusp of joining Hull City from Real Salt Lake

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...

Hull City have been linked with a plethora of potential new signings in recent days, as Ruben Selles continues to search for names who will fit the mould of his Tigers side.

The side who currently find themselves in the final relegation place, despite an extremely credible 3-3 draw with Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, are not in the position many expected them to be in at this stage of the season, with the Spanish boss' first aim being to steady the ship after his December arrival from Reading.

In order to do so, plenty of names in an array of positions have already been linked with a switch to the MKM, which could provide a nice blend of youthfulness and experience in order to progress Hull up the Championship standings.

However, the signing of former Middlesbrough playmaker Matt Crooks from MLS outfit, Real Salt Lake, is set to be the first incoming of the Selles era, with it being stated that the 30-year-old will sign a two-and-a-half year contract in East Yorkshire, after initial reports on Monday referenced that the Leeds-born man was undergoing a medical with the Tigers.

With that in mind, Football League World asked our Hull fan pundit, Ryan Frankish, for his thoughts on the deal.

Hull City fan pundit draws Matt Crooks, Harry Kane comparison as Hull City deal draws closer

Given Crooks' previous pedigree in the second tier for Rotherham United and latterly, Middlesbrough, where he excelled under Chris Wilder and Michael Carrick with a tally of 23 goals and 15 assists in 115 games, Frankish praised the club regarding this particular facet of the deal.

"I think Matt Crooks is a fantastic bit of business," Ryan told FLW.

"Number one, he's got Championship experience, and that's what a lot of our fans yearn for, when Acun sometimes makes these freak signings who have never played in England.

"Secondly, he's massive, and we don't have a lot of height in our midfield as it is. So, for him to be coming in, obviously gives us an aerial advantage. But, as well as that, from midfield, he does seem like a natural goalscorer.

"He obviously isn't going to be chipping in with 20+ goals a season, b ut, he had a lot of clutch moments at Middlesbrough, and at 30 now, that's your prime."

"I know it's very night and day, but Harry Kane is still banging in goals and he's 31. Prime years are getting later because of the fitness in the game, so I think age doesn't have much to do with his current ability.

"So, I think it's a fantastic bit of business from City."

Matt Crooks ticks plenty of boxes for Ruben Selles and Hull City

As Frankish alluded to, Crooks will give Hull much more of a physical and aerial presence in the middle of the park in comparison to Steven Alzate, Regan Slater and Gustavo Puerta - all of whom are under 6 feet tall - but he will also compliment the others in the middle of the park at the MKM with his attributes.

The Huddersfield Town youth product best showcased his ability as a creative and goalscoring midfielder at this level in the 2021/22 campaign, scoring 10 goals in 40 appearances, before going on to accumulate 13 goal contributions in the side which went on to reach the play-off semi-finals.

The 'clutch moments' refer to his display against Manchester United at Old Trafford in February 2022, where the experienced midfielder netted a 64th-minute equaliser at the 'Theatre of Dreams' as the Reds reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, as well as scoring twice on the club's run to the EFL Cup semi-finals last season, where they would be defeated by Chelsea both times.