Keane Lewis-Potter's Hull City confession as he prepares for MKM Stadium reunion

Hometown hero Keane Lewis-Potter will make his first playing return to the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon, when he wears the colours of Brentford against his beloved Hull City.

Lewis-Potter made a £20m move to West London back in the summer of 2022, and more than four years on, he will come up against the club he grew up supporting, before winning the League One title in the Premier League

The 25-year-old dreamed of playing for City in the world's biggest league, but will get a chance to take them on in front of a packed-out MKM Stadium early on Sunday afternoon, with the Tigers in desperate need of a major pick-me-up after last weekend's no-show at Fulham.

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Believe it or not, before Lewis-Potter signed for City's academy, he actually rebuffed the club's advances because he was playing in the Sunday league. After bagging three hundred-plus goals in the colours of Hessle Rangers, he then accepted those overtures and went on to play a significant role in leading the club back to the Championship with the League One title.

Following Acun Ilicali's takeover in January 2022, the star was allowed to move to Brentford after Thomas Frank finally got the man he'd been chasing for some time, with the Tigers sealing a club-record fee for a player loved by their supporters.

“It was strange actually because I played for the Sunday league team at the time who were one of the best teams, if not the best, in England, Sunday league-wise," Lewis-Potter told The Times. "We entered tournaments where the best teams from around the country all came and we won that one year and the next year we came runners-up. We had a talented team and, for me, it was just to keep going, keep working and not really have a doubt that they would come back again.”

“I know lads who’ve been at the academy since age seven or eight and worked their way up and I know people who’ve done it the way I’ve done it, but I definitely wouldn’t change a thing."

Prior to City's play-off final win over Middlesbrough, Lewis-Potter was one of a flurry of former players who sent well-wishes to the club, and he admits that he was transfixed to the Wembley final on the way to Liverpool for the Bees' final game of the league season back in May, even if some of his colleagues were more interested in watching something else.

“There’s TV screens on pretty much every seat on the bus and I made sure that game was on," Lewis-Potter confessed, before going on to express his love for Hull's iconic chip spice. "A few of the lads weren’t happy but they didn’t have a chance to change it over. My eyes were fixed on it. I make sure I grab a tub of that to bring back with me. The nutritionists won’t be too happy with that, but you’ve got to give me some slack sometimes."

Inside the Brentford dressing room, Lewis-Potter isn't the only fan of City. Fabio Carvalho spent a spell on loan with the Tigers during Liam Rosenior's tenure, as the club narrowly missed out on the play-offs under their former defender.

Carvalho has kept in touch with the club, and particularly, owner Ilicali, and tentative talks were held this summer about a possible return to the club, but the door was closed by Keith Andrews and Brentford, who made it clear that after the Portuguese's ACL injury, they wanted him to stay.

"I can probably call Fábio an adopted Yorkshireman. He absolutely loved it there, and he thinks so much of the club as well," Lewis-Potter added.

While Lewis-Potter's biggest success at Hull City, aside from coming in from the academy and breaking into the first time, was winning the League One title, although doing it behind closed doors because of Covid took the shine off it for him, and the rest of Grant McCann's players.

For Lewis-Potter, though, few things will ever top playing making his debut for his hometown club, and hearing the fans sing his name, something he can expect this weekend.

“Being a Hull lad, for the fans to sing my name, it was something that I’d dreamt of ever since I was young," he continued, before confessing his love for the place he calls home. “London is absolutely amazing, probably one of the best cities in the world, but for me, I don’t think anything will compare with Hull."

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