Hull City should consider exploiting Leeds United's contract flux

Jared Dublin, Martin Hodge and the recruitment team at the MKM Stadium are busy working away on bringing players in that can help Sergej Jakirovic's Tigers compete.

As many as 10 or 12 new players are likely to arrive over the next couple of months, and one area the club will be looking to strengthen will be the goalkeeping department.

City have gone through this season with Ivor Pandur playing 45 of City's 46 regular season games in the Championship, and then all three play-off games, while Dillon Phillips, who arrived last summer on a free transfer, was restricted to one league outing at Oxford United on Good Friday and three cup displays.

Pandur has been a pivotal figure in helping City win promotion, and became just the fourth goalkeeper in the play-off era to go through the tournament without conceding a goal, and is now at the World Cup with Croatia.

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Adding Premier League experience across the squad will be vital, and City could look to Leeds United once again for a sensible piece of business.

Karl Darlow finished the season in terrific form at Elland Road, establishing himself as Daniel Farke's number one, playing in their remaining 17 Premier League games.

The ex-Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest stopper is out of contract in West Yorkshire at the end of this month, and has yet to agree terms on a new deal.

Leeds have been heavily linked with a move for Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope and Wolves' Sam Johnstone, which would see Darlow struggle to retain his place, and the ongoing uncertainty around his new deal has opened the door for other clubs.

Darlow, of course, has a history with the Tigers, having played 12 games during a loan spell during Liam Rosenior's tenure at the back end of the 2022/23 campaign. The 35-year-old looked to be on his way back to City that summer, before Rosenior turned to Ryan Allsop.

Though the Tigers will spend money this summer, there is value to be had in the free transfer market, and a player of Darlow's calibre and experience would be a sensible addition to provide competition to the goalkeeping unit, and also add further to the Tigers' homegrown quota.

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