Nicolas Raskin would be 'up against it' if he signed for Hull City, one former Arsenal striker has claimed, before going on to suggest the Tigers must prepare to lose most weekends in the Premier League.
It won't come as much of a surprise to City's players or supporters that they've once again been written off before a ball has been kicked by pundits, and that's the case again.
Raskin, who is a player City want to sign from Rangers, has impressed at the World Cup as Belgium have grown slowly into the tournament, prior to Friday night's quarter-final exit by Spain.
As it stands, City have not been able to agree a deal with the Glasgow giants for a player valued at £20m-plus by the Glasgow outfit.
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The 25-year-old midfielder has played in all five of his country's games and claimed assists in the thumping wins over New Zealand and the USA, but could do little as the reigning European Champions set up a semi-final clash with France in Dallas on Tuesday night
Ex-Arsenal striker Alan Smith believes Raskin would immediately have a challenge on with the newly-promoted Tigers, should he end up joining the East Yorkshire club.
"If he comes to Hull, he’ll be up against it," Smith told BestBettingSites. "They’ll be losing most weekends. They need more bodies, more talent, more quality.
"I mean, he only broke into the Belgium side last year. But as you said, got an assist. He’s been wearing his national shirt, which will give him confidence."
City have so far signed Raskin's Rangers teammate Jack Butland ahead of their return to pre-season training on Monday, and Smith has given his verdict on what type of profile the Tigers should look to bring in.
"But certainly, Hull need to be quite cute, don’t they, in their acquisitions? I don’t know how much money they’ve got to spend, but they need players with hunger and ability, which is not easy to get," he added.
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