Toby Collyer is wanted by Hull City
Toby Collyer is wanted by Hull City(Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic has reiterated his desire to sign Toby Collyer from Manchester United, and says he must make room in the Tigers' 25-man squad.
Collyer spent the second half of last season on loan at the MKM Stadium, but his spell in East Yorkshire was ravaged by injury, with his only start coming against Coventry City on Easter Monday.
Despite his injury troubles. Jakirovic made it clear that he wants to bring the 22-year-old back to the club on a permanent basis, and talks with United have continued in the background throughout the summer.
West Brom and Middlesbrough have shown interest in the midfielder, but it's Jakirovic who really wants City to sign Collyer, with sources indicating he could be available for as little as £3m.
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Despite his injury nightmare last season, Collyer has managed to get a full pre-season with United under his belt, and would arrive in good condition and ready to play his part in the Tigers' Premier League campaign.
City have not yet decided whether they will snap up Collyer before Tuesday night's deadline, with discussions ongoing, but Jakirovic's desire is clear, because he feels he's a player of significant potential, and at a good age.
"Why not? Toby is, for me, a good player," he told Hull Live. "We can improve him a lot, but the main thing is that he stays healthy. I saw that he did all pre-season with Man United, which is great. He knows this area here and our team, everything, so there is no adaptation for him and why not?"
One issue potentially facing Collyer's arrival is where he fits in, given the Tigers have signed Lucas Gourna-Douath and Hidemasa Morita, adding to Regan Slater, Kieran Dowell, Matt Crooks, along with the injured Darko Gyabi. Jakirovic can only name 25 players in his squad, though, because of their ages, Lucas Herrington and Jens Hjerto-Dahl are not factored into that 25, which frees up more space.
Despite that, Jakirovic faces some tough decisions over who to leave out and some big names likely to be omitted, and face up to playing no Premier League football between now and January, unless they try and secure a move away from the club.
Oscar Zambrano is one of those primed to move out on loan, as City look to get him playing regularly after two years without a huge amount of football.
"We must make room for him and all these new arrivals because, unfortunately, it's a list of 25, so, OK, we have Herrington (born in) 2007, we have Jens (born in) 2005, and they are not on this list, but we must find space," the Croatian continued.
"This is unfortunately bad news for these players because for me it's a disaster if you stay here, you are not registered, and what will you do here? You will not play football for one hundred years, so you have to find a better solution."
Jakirovic admits leaving it until the last few days of the window isn't ideal for some players, but says that is because of needing them to play through pre-season and in the opening week of the campaign.
"Maybe, now, five days, until the end of this transfer window, our decision is bad because maybe we should have done this earlier, but you don't have players, you didn't bring players (you needed them to play)," he explained. "This is my job and also club decisions, so we have to respect this."
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