Hull City set to seal third January transfer deal as veteran attacker arrives
Hull City have agreed to sign a short-term deal with 64-cap Moroccan international Nordin Amrabat who will become their third signing of the January transfer window.
The veteran winger, who turns 38 at the end of March, most recently played for AEK Athens in the Greek Super League, where he scored once in six appearances this season before agreeing to terminate his deal to facilitate a return to England. It's understood he trained with City on Thursday and could be in Ruben Selles' squad for the trip to Millwall this weekend.
He left Athens earlier this month after spending three-and-a-half years at the club having won the league and cup double, playing 113 times, scoring 22 times and notching 17 assists.
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The brother of Sofyan, the former Manchester United midfielder who now plays in Turkey with Fenerbahce, Amrabat is a right winger with a CV that includes spells with the likes of PSV, Galatasaray, Malaga and Watford amid an extensive list of former clubs that has hit double figures throughout a career spanning the best part of two decades.
His move to the Premier League in 2016 saw the Hornets pay Malaga just over £6m. He went on to play 48 times for the Vicarage Road outfit prior to his move to Saudi.
In fact, it's not the first time Amrabat’s name and Hull City have come together. The Tigers were linked with a move for the former Ajax academy graduate back in 2013. Twelve years ago, he was playing for Turkish giants Galatasaray, but Steve Bruce refuted reports suggesting City were prepared to pay £7m to bring him to East Yorkshire, and the move did not happen.
More than a decade later, the move has finally happened, and the vastly experienced campaigner will provide boss Ruben Selles with another option on the flanks in the remaining weeks of the season.
His move to City will see Amrabat notch up an 11th different club having been released by Dutch giants Ajax at the age of 13, before going on to represent Almere City, Venlo, PSV, Kayserispor, Galatasaray, Malaga, Leganes, Watford and Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, before his hugely successful spell in Greece.
Amrabat has also played 64 times for Morocco, scoring seven goals. He represented the North African country in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the London Olympics in 2012 and two Africa Cup of Nations.
City view the move as a risk-free short-term option to see them through until the end of the season, when they hope to have Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi back available next term.
The Tigers are working on more deals and could yet have another new arrival in the door over the next couple of days, though it's extremely unlikely to happen before the trip to Millwall on Saturday.
