--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-07-26T03:20:59.842Z last_updated: 2026-07-17T16:00:00+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/hull-city/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaHVsbGRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9zcG9ydC9mb290YmFsbC9mb290YmFsbC1uZXdzL3Nlcmdlai1qYWtpcm92aWNzLXRyYW5zZmVyLWhvcGUtb3BlbnMtMTEwNjUwOTM --- # Sergej Jakirovic's transfer hope as he opens up on Hull City's pre-season start - **Source:** - **Published:** 17 Jul - **Club:** Hull City - **Original URL:** https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sergej-jakirovics-transfer-hope-opens-11065093 Sergej Jakirovic was full of praise for his returning Hull City players as their first gruelling week of pre-season training gets ready to come to an end. City's Wembley heroes came in for testing at the back end of last week, but the work started properly on Monday morning, and Jakirovic has declared himself pleased with what he's seen. While there may have been endless celebrations from the players following their Wembley triumph, with a group of them heading off to Las Vegas at Acun Ilicali's expense, before Oli McBurnie enjoyed a holiday with the City owner, they've come back ready to prepare for the Premier League in tip-top condition. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page City's squad will end their first week back with an internal training game on Saturday, before flying to Slovenia on Monday morning for the first stop on their pre-season tour, which sees them spend nine days in Maribor prior to four days in Istanbul. While abroad, the Tigers will play games against Turkish Super Lig opposition in Konyaspor, Rizespor and Kasimpasa, and Jakirovic admits it will be hard graft in the Slovenian mountains. "Everything's going fine. We've worked hard, and I'm happy with the players. It's not easy after seven weeks off to get started again," he told Hull Live. "I can say they've put in everything every day on the pitch, they're trying hard and also you can see the commitment is there, and we will finish with an in-house 11vs11 game on Saturday. I hope for injuries, because this is very important. "They are in good condition after we had this fitness test. I cannot say anything, but now it will be hard for them, especially in Maribor, and as I said, just avoid the injuries; this is the most important." Understandably, the training ground on the first full day back was a joyous place to be, albeit one missing some big characters following some close-season transfer activity. Loan stars Joe Gelhardt, John Lundstram, Lewis Koumas, Yu Hirakawa and Amir Hadziahmetovic all returned to their parent clubs, while Ivor Pandur, Kyle Joseph and Akin Famewo were all sold. Jakirovic was philosophical about their departures, but admits he hopes there will be new faces to add to the group over the next few days. "It was a great, great atmosphere," he continued. "Of course, we lost 11 players from Wembley, but this is football, this is the football business. "We had our loan players, we sold Ivor Pandur, Kyle Joseph, and also Akin Famemo went to Bolton, so it's normal and it's a big turnover of players, but I hope in the next couple of days we will bring in some new players and we will try to add the quality that is better than what we have." Hull Live will be the only English media with City during every step of their pre-season tour, and you can follow all our updates in print and online. We remain dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest City news from inside their training camp by joining our free WhatsApp group.