How much every Dogukan Sinik appearance has cost Hull City after £4m transfer mishap | OneFootball

Sinik's troubles in East Yorkshire have been well-documented after the hefty fee paid for his services

Dogukan Sinik's three-year contract at Hull City has entered it's final six months, with the Turkish winger still an enigma to supporters in East Yorkshire.

In what was just the second transfer window of owner Acun Ilicali's tenure in the MKM Stadium boardroom, the media mogul backed then-head coach Shota Arveladze in the market with an abundance of high-profile signings, although the bulk of those would flatter to deceive at the MKM Stadium.

Hull had just lost the services of the homegrown Keane Lewis-Potter - who has gone on to make great strides for Brentford since moving to the Premier League side for an initial £16m fee and has recently signed a contract extension until 2031 at the Gtech Community Stadium - and it was hoped that Sinik could fill the void left behind by the winger who netted 12 Championship goals the previous season.

However, it hasn't worked out whatsoever for the 25-year-old, with numerous injuries and fitness-related issues the main reasons behind one of the most underwhelming deals Hull have made in recent times.

And, given the fact Sinik set the Tigers back a reported £4m fee, Football League World looks at one key financial detail regarding such a disastrous period for all involved, with it looking more and more likely with each passing week that the wide man won't pull on a Black and Amber shirt in competitive action again.

Dogukan Sinik's limited appearances for Hull City

Despite a record of just five goals and 12 assists for Antalyaspor prior to his switch, the acquisition of the six-time Türkiye international - who has netted twice for his national team - was met with overall excitement, although Sinik was immediately put on the back foot after sustaining a knee injury just days after the deal was confirmed.

His first appearance in Black and Amber came via a 19-minute cameo in a 2-0 home defeat to Luton Town in September 2022, before making his two competitive starts for the club to date in the following MKM Stadium outings against Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City.

The rest of his nine appearances for the club in 2022/23 would all come as a substitute, with the last of those on Boxing Day 2022 in a 1-1 draw with Blackpool.

Sinik would then return to his former side on loan for the rest of the season, where he would also struggle with availability, despite scoring three times and providing one assist in just 12 Süper Lig encounters.

Upon his return to England, Hull owner, Ilicali, believed that the wide player would "be like a new transfer" while Liam Rosenior was also extremely eager to work with Sinik after a full pre-season under his belt.

However, what epitomises this transfer mishap more than anything is the fact Sinik has only played 22 minutes of football for the club since then, which came in a 3-0 defeat to Ipswich Town last October, before going on to make just 10 appearances for Hatayspor in the second half of the season, scoring just the once.

The former Antalya Kemer man would then see yet another managerial change occur at the MKM, this time with Tim Walter offering him a clean slate to prove his worth and fitness, which was once again blighted by a tendon injury in pre-season.

He returned to fitness during a training camp in his home country in October, explaining his "main goal this season is to put the shirt on again as I am always happy when I get to wear it."

Hull's misfortune in the wide areas this season have been well-documented, with summer arrivals Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi both suffering season-ending ACL injuries.

However, Sinik still hasn't been able to showcase his worth to supporters this season, being named on the bench against West Bromwich Albion in November, before colliding with Ivor Pandur in training and sidelining himself once more.

And, even though City have Ruben Selles in the dugout, there is an ever-growing sense that Sinik will not feature for the club again and that Ilicali and the club hierarchy must accept a major loss when it comes to the initial deal.

How much each Dogukan Sinik appearance has cost Hull City

What is likely to frustrate supporters even more is how much each of his 13 competitive appearances for the club have set Hull back financially.

When dividing his reported transfer fee by the aforementioned limited amount of times Sinik has featured for Hull in nigh-on three years, it is estimated that each individual appearance has cost the club a total of £307,692.

Furthermore, Hull fans may be ever-so slightly relieved that, according to figures from Capology, the Turk is nowhere near the top when it comes to the weekly and annual salary payroll in East Yorkshire.

Although, it has to be argued that £5,000 per week and £260,000 per year - £780,000 over the course of his contract - would have been better invested in someone who could have fulfilled their potential and justified such a hefty price tag.

Of course, it is easy to make such a judgement with the benefit of hindsight. But, it's fair to say that the Tigers cannot afford to make another error of this magnitude, especially in their current predicament.