“It’s crazy” – Hull City: Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest players namechecked in ideal transfer scenario.

This post is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which features unique perspectives from our FLW Fan Pundits on the most recent breaking news, teams, players, managers, possible signings, and more…

Hull City have been asked to investigate January transfers for Ali Al-Hamadi and Emmanuel Dennis, both of whom are out of favor at Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest, respectively.

The forthcoming January window is expected to be an important one for the Tigers in their effort to avoid relegation to League One under new manager Ruben Selles, who secured his first win in command on Saturday afternoon with a 2-1 triumph against Swansea City.

Despite initial progress under Selles, Hull remain close to the relegation zone and need to solve key concerns in January to allay anxieties. The Tigers are now 22nd in the Championship with 19 points, however they are just one point ahead of Cardiff City, Oxford United, and Plymouth, all of whom have 18 points and a game in hand.

Hull haven’t wowed at either end of the ball, but a lack of potency has been especially noticeable at the MKM Stadium. Only Cardiff have scored less goals this season, and no player has scored more than veteran striker Joao Pedro, who has four goals in 14 outings.

Hull City asked to examine Ali Al-Hamadi and Emmanuel Dennis transfer offers.

Ryan Frankish, a Tigers supporter, shared his ideal January window and suggested prospective acquisitions. Ryan feels Hull need up to two forwards, and has promoted bids for Al-Hamadi and Dennis.

Al-Hamadi has yet to start a single top-flight match this season for Ipswich Town, whom he assisted in gaining promotion last season, while Dennis has failed to make Forest’s 25-man Premier League squad and appears to be leaving the City Ground sooner rather than later.

The 27-year-old spent the second part of last season on loan in the Championship with Watford and might thus be available if Hull set their sights on him.

Ryan hopes Hull to acquire a defensive midfielder and a central defender, in addition to Al-Hamadi and Dennis, with a focus on adding more 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 at the time.

“The players I’d want to recruit in that sector that I’ve considered are Al-Hamadi from Ipswich and Emmanuel Dennis from Forest; I believe it’s insane that a guy of that level is sitting around not playing.

“I believe there are several opportunities for him here in England.

“I would want to see a defensive midfielder replace the suspended Oscar Zambrano. Ideally, we’d want to add an experienced centre-back who doesn’t have to start every game but can bring some consistency because we’re short on 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.”

Ali Al-Hamadi and Emmanuel Dennis might be inspired additions for Hull City.

Ryan is quite correct in calling for Selles to address his forward options in the window, and Al-Hamadi and Dennis are two fascinating candidates.

At 22, Al-Hamadi is a highly talented player with a keen eye for goal. The 11-cap Iraq international contributed to the Tractor Boys’ promotion by scoring four goals as an impact replacement, but he now needs to play regular football, which is not available at Portman Road, to build on the promising season he had with Wimbledon before leaving in 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’d expect him to be prolific in front of goal at this level, thanks to numerous match minutes, but it’s not surprising that a slew of second-tier suitors will be vying for his signature in the coming weeks.

Dennis’ situation is a little more complicated, as his career has taken a dramatic fall in recent years. The versatile attacker, who can play centrally or wide-left in a front three, energized Watford in the 2021/22 season by scoring 10 league goals and providing six assists, but he hasn’t done much since.

His departure to Forest, which occurred after that season, just did not go as planned, and his return to Vicarage Road last season was not as spectacular as many had hoped.

The fact that he hasn’t played a competitive minute since April is a major concern, but with Forest covering the majority of his wages on loan, it could be a low-risk, high-reward situation if they can re-establish the player we saw in his first spell at Watford.