After waiting all summer for a senior signing Hull City made three in one day. Much to the delight of Mike Phelan, the caretaker manager, Ryan Mason opted to swap Tottenham Hotspur for Hull rather than Sunderland, becoming the Humberside club’s record signing.
Hull have paid slightly more than the £10m they gave Palermo in exchange for Abel Hernández to secure the services of the 25-year-old midfielder, who has one England cap, and they also signed David Marshall, the Cardiff City goalkeeper, for a fee which could rise to £5m. The acqusition of the third new face involved a £1m investment in the Manchester United forward Will Keane.
In the space of a few hours Phelan had gone from having 14 fit senior professionals at his disposal to 17. Even better was the news that Aston Villa’s £20m bid for Hernández had collapsed with the striker now set to remain on Humberside.
It was not such a good day for David Moyes at Sunderland. If Mason’s decision to opt for the Humber rather than the Wear, represented a blow, so did Vicente Iborra’s refusal to swap Seville for the Stadium of Light. A £7m deal had been agreed for the Sevilla midfielder but Iborra would rather fight for his place at the La Liga club than move to north-east England.
With his injury hit squad looking almost as skinny as Hull’s, Moyes is anxious to bolster his attack – Jermain Defoe desperately needs support but Liverpool are refusing to part with Danny Ings – central midfield, central defence and goalkeeper.
A serious elbow injury suffered by Vito Mannone dictates a new keeper is a priority but Chelsea rebuffed Sunderland’s approach for their reserve Asmir Begovic, once of Stoke City. Daniele Padelli, the Torino goalkeeper displaced by Joe Hart’s arrival on loan from Manchester City, is now an option.
Meanwhile Moyes is still hoping to secure the transfer of Yann M’Vila, the former France midfielder, from Rubin Kazan and has discussed the possibility of taking Jason Denayer, the young Manchester City defender on loan.
