Hull City owner defends 61-transfer spree as he bids for two more ahead of Stoke clash
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali insists the rapid turnover of players at his club in the last three years is not because he is treating it like a game.
Hull have already brought in six players this month and will make Louie Barry the seventh when he is unveiled as a loan signing from Aston Villa ahead of a home match against Stoke City this weekend (Saturday, 3pm). Hull are also trying to bring in left-back Charlie Taylor from Southampton before deadline day on Monday.
There have been 61 signings since Ilicali took charge in January 2022, reports HullLive, but he insists that is down to players moving on and injuries, such as season-ending blows for Mohamed Belloumi and Liam Millar. Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene, Ozan Tufan and Jean Michael Seri were all sold last summer after missing out on a play-off spot, which saw the end of Liam Rosenior's time as manager.
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Ilicali told Sky Sports: "I read some articles about me, about transferring too many players to the club, but of course, everything is for a reason. I'm not just playing PlayStation. Everything has a reason why we do something. First of all, last year, we had some loan players who had to go, and they wanted to play in the Premier League. Apart from that, some players came to me, and they said that they wanted to go to play in the Premier League; they wanted to make the transfer.
"I said to them the same thing: I will never put my benefits in front of a player because it is his life, and I'm making a team, and he's only one part of the team, but on the other hand, it is his life that he's asking something from me.
"When my players ask me to give permission to go to the Premier League, of course, I have to give them permission. This is who I am, so I don't put stress on the players that they have to stay. No, if somebody goes, good for him and for me, it is good. I'm always happy."
Hull lost head of recruitment Lee Darnbrough to Stoke last summer and brought in Stoke's former head of recruitment Jared Dublin to replace him.
Ilicali said: "We lost so many players in the summer that went to the Premier League plus, of course, some more absences, so we had to make the transfers.
"Unfortunately, in the transfers, in my view, we had two of the best wingers in the league (Millar and Belloumi), and both of them had ACL injuries, so two losses from the midfield, two wingers lost in five or six weeks, plus our centre-back Charlie Hughes, one of our favourites of the young players also got a big injury.
"So, of course, we lost so many points (in the league), and I think after Ruben (Selles) came, everything started developing, and when we came to the January window, I can say that we used all our efforts, of course, me personally too, but Ruben, and especially Jared (Dublin) our new sporting director, we are a team working together, with Mustapha (Yokes) and Merthan (Acil), too. We just made all our efforts, and I think we are one of the best in the January transfer window, from my point of view, of course."
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