Championship side Hull City have entered the fold to sign former Valencia striker Maxi Gomez as they look to bolster their attacking options, as reported by Turkish publication Sporun Dibi.
The Tigers are targeting a return to the Premier League under their new ownership which consists of Turkish company Acun Medya Holding, owned by Ali Acun Ilicali. The Turkish businessman completed his purchase of Hull City in January 2022, which saw an end to the controversial 11-year ownership of the Allam family.
The club had gone from Premier League and fell to League One before returning to the Championship, which saw them finish comfortably in 15th under the guidance of former Tigers player Liam Rosenior, who was appointed in November 2022. They are looking to build on this and target a return to the top flight.
As part of that plan, a lot of the club’s recruitment under Ilicali has seen them focus their attention on players within Turkey and it looks like they are prepared to add another name to the list as they turn their attention to Trabzonspor striker Maxi Gomez. Since his time at the club began, the Tigers have seen six players arrive from Ilicali’s homeland of Turkey.
Gomez was a hot prospect as a teenager in his homeland of Uruguay, he made his debut for Sporting Defensor at the age of 19, spending two years in the first team, scoring 29 goals in 52 appearances. The exposure to first-team football saw him move to Spanish side Celta Vigo in 2017 where he continued his prolific goalscoring nature with 30 goals in 71 outings in La Liga and after two seasons with the side, he was on the move once again, as Valencia secured his services for €14.5 million as well as sending two players the other way.
His time at Valencia would not be as enjoyable as his previous clubs as he struggled to find the net for Valencia scoring 23 goals in 109 appearances and last summer his time with the club came to an end, as they looked to offload the striker following a breach of Financial Fair Play regulations. Turkish side Trabzonspor were happy to oblige to secure the Uruguay international’s services paying €3 million to seal a move, with just seven goals in 33 in all competitions it looks like the 26-year-old could be on the move once again.
The move could be pricey for the Tigers as the striker has another two years on his deal with the Turkish club as well as a club option to add another year on to his deal, but if he is someone they really want, they would be happy to pay for his services. Rosenior shifted to a 4-4-2 at the end of last season, so they will be looking for another striker to help get the goals.
Writer’s View
Gomez is a striker who has proven himself at a high level, having played Champions League football, as well as 31 international caps for Uruguay since his debut in 2017. It is clear that he can score goals and it is not an ability he will have forgotten and this could be the step he needs to take to get his confidence back and start getting his name on the scoresheet more often once again.
With that being said, Hull are a side who are targeting a rise once again under new ownership and a striker is one of the first ways to go about it, because, as we all know, goals win you games.
