“It’s crazy” – Hull City: Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest players namechecked in ideal transfer scenario
The upcoming January window is poised to be a significant one for the Tigers in their bid to stave off the threat of relegation to League One under new boss Ruben Selles, who claimed his first win in charge in Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 victory over Swansea City.
Despite initial improvement following the appointment of Selles, Hull are still much closer to the relegation zone than they would like to be and will therefore need to address the right issues in January if they are to alleviate those fears. The Tigers are currently placed 22nd in the Championship with 19 points, although they’re just one point above Cardiff City, Oxford United and Plymouth, who are all tied on 18 points and have a game in hand, too. Hull haven’t impressed at both ends of the pitch but the deficit of firepower has been a particular issue at the MKM Stadium. Only Cardiff have scored fewer goals at this stage of the season, while no player has found the back of the net on
We asked our Tigers fan pundit, Ryan Frankish, to describe what a perfect January window would look like for his side, along with identifying any potential signings. Ryan believes Hull require up to two strikers, with moves for Al-Hamadi and Dennis duly encouraged. Al-Hamadi is yet to start a single top-flight match this season for Ipswich Town, whom he helped gain promotion last time out, while Dennis failed to even make the cut in Forest’s 25-man Premier League squad and is seemingly destined to depart the City Ground sooner rather than later.
The 27-year-old spent the second-half of last season on loan in the Championship with Watford and could therefore be attainable, should Hull set their sights on him. Along with potential moves for Al-Hamadi and Dennis, Ryan also wants to see Hull sign a defensive midfielder and a central defender, although the priority is clearly additional firepower. “My ideal transfer window would be bringing in a striker, possibly even two, cancelling the loan of Chris Bedia to free that space up as harsh as it sounds,” Ryan told Football League World.
“The players I’d love to sign in that department which I’ve thought about are Al-Hamadi from Ipswich or Emmanuel Dennis at Forest, I think it’s crazy that a player of that calibre is sat around not playing.
“I think there is so much opportunity for him here in England. “I’d like to see a defensive midfielder to take the place of the suspended Oscar Zambrano. Ideally a centre-back, just an experienced head who wouldn’t even need to start every game but would provide some stability because we’re lacking old heads. “It’s quite relatable to Chelsea last season when they went on the spending spree and had loads of kids but no experience last season.”
Ryan is perfectly right to call for Selles to address his forward options in the window, and Al-Hamadi and Dennis are two intriguing targets. At 22, Al-Hamadi remains a hugely promising talent with a clear eye for goal. The 11-cap Iraq international played his role in the Tractor Boys’ promotion by scoring four times as an impact substitute but now needs to be playing regular football, which isn’t available at Portman Road, to follow up on the rich promise displayed with Wimbledon prior to his exit last January.
Ali Al-Hamadi’s career stats by club via FotMob, as of December 23
Years
Club
Appearances
Goals
Assists
2021-2023
Wycombe Wanderers
13
1
0
2022
Bromley (loan)
13
3
0
2023-2024
AFC Wimbledon
48
27
8
2024-
Ipswich Town
23
5
0
You would fancy him to be prolific infront of goal at this level with the helping hand of frequent match minutes, although it would be no surprise to see a whole host of second-tier suitors court his signature in the coming weeks.
It’s somewhat more complex with Dennis, who has seen a sharp downturn in his career over the last couple of years or so. The versatile forward, who can play either centrally or wide-left of a front three, was inspired for Watford in the 2021/22 campaign by scoring 10 league goals and adding a further six assists, but he hasn’t delivered much since then.
His move to Forest, which came following that season, simply hasn’t gone to plan, and last term’s Vicarage Road return wasn’t quite as emphatic as many had expected. The fact he hasn’t played a minute of competitive football since April remains a real concern but, on the basis of a loan deal with Forest covering the majority of his wages, it could be fairly low risk with high potential reward if they could re-unlock the player we saw in his first spell at Watford.
Leave a Reply