Managerless Hull City must act fast to snare Ruben Selles amid growing Championship interest

Hull City stepped up their quest to find a permanent replacement for Tim Walter over the weekend with a flurry of interviews taking place.

After receiving a number of applications for the MKM Stadium hot seat, City's board of directors whittled the list down to six names, according to owner Acun Ilicali, all of whom have gone through the interview process. The Turkish businessman has so far remained coy about the identity of those he has spoken to.

The likes of Steven Schumacher, Alex Neil, Slavisa Jokanovic, Chris Hughton and Mark Robins are all thought to be managers of significant interest to City, along with Reading boss Ruben Selles, but City are not the only admirers of the 41-year-old Spaniard.

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If City are to push hard for Selles and make him their preferred candidate, they'll need to open discussions with the Royals quickly, given the Valencia-born former Southampton caretaker boss is attracting interest from Championship rivals Cardiff City. Selles has been previously been eyed by Stoke City with his stock continuing to rise given the circumstances he's worked under in Royal Berkshire. In fact, his energetic side faced City in pre-season, running out comfortable 2-0 winners against Tim Walter's Tigers in what was the final outing of the summer prior to the campaign getting underway.

Cardiff have been without a manager since early in the campaign after Erol Bulut was sacked, and it's believed Selles is one of the managers they're looking at speaking to.

Selles took over at the SCL Stadium in July 2023, and since then, the club has been besieged by troubles off the pitch, which have had huge impacts on the pitch, whether it be points deductions, transfer embargoes or fines. Reading, of course, is owned by the Dai family, who City fans will remember, tried, and failed to takeover at the MKM Stadium, having come worryingly close.

"I have had enough of this situation now," Selles told BBC Radio Berkshire back in September after a takeover attempt by Rob Couhig collapsed. "All the bad situations that can happen in football have happened to me in the last 16 months. I have a fantastic group of players that have been fighting against those situations but it gets to a point where you cannot anymore, you are repeating the things in the cycle. I’m not a person that likes to quit but I do need to reflect on where could be the ending point because I’m not happy with everything that’s happened."

Reading, who are going well in League One and host Cambridge United on Tuesday evening, will be desperate to not lose their manager, given the sterling job he's done amid terrifically difficult circumstances. But City's need is also significant with the Tigers stuttering badly at the wrong end of the Championship table.

His understandable grumblings will have grown louder in advance of that game with United, given the news that broke about another failed takeover attempt, this time by former Royals player Roger Smee. Dai Yongge rejected the offer and a chance to jump into the Championship may be an opportunity that appeals to Selles.

But Selles isn't the only manager of major interest to City, though, with Steven Schumacher and Alex Neil both on the list. The pair have previously worked with Jared Dublin, the club's head of recruitment at Stoke, while Slavisa Jokanovic is also understood to have been spoken to as part of the process.