Hull City’s Ozan Tufan is being linked with a move away from the MKM Stadium as former Turkish Süper Lig champions Trabzonspor are keeping tabs on the midfielder.
Tufan, who moved to East Yorkshire in 2022 for a fee of approximately £4 million from Fenerbahçe, started 25 games for Liam Rosenior’s side in the Championship last season, scoring 10 goals. He has played a total of 84 games for the club and is a fan favourite with the Tiger’s faithful.
However, as the 29-year-old continues to impress in the second tier, and with Hull again failing to make the play-offs, the draw of European football in his home nation is only growing larger.
Despite his impressive 65 caps for his country, he has been out of the Turkish international set-up for nearly three years, with his last cap coming in November 2021. With Turkey battling to progress in Euro 2024, Tufan may be looking on from home wondering if a move back to his native country is the way back into manager Vincenzo Montella’s plans for the 2026 World Cup.
As per Hull Live, there are reports of Tufan agreeing a three-year deal with Trabzonspor, who finished third in behind Tufan’s former club Fenerbahçe, qualifying them for next season’s reformatted UEFA Europa League. He had also been previously linked with a Premier League move to West Ham United.
Trabzonspor won the Süper Lig for the first time in 38 years in 2022 but have since struggled to replicate the form that took them to the title. Perhaps Tufan is the man to bridge the sizeable gap of 35 points to 2024 champions Galatasaray.
In East Yorkshire though, they will not be eager to let Tufan go without a fight. Having paid a significant fee for him just two summers ago, they will likely be hopeful of receiving some financial compensation if they are forced to part with their key man. With just under two months until the beginning of the Championship season this could well drag out over the coming weeks as City hold out for the maximum fee.
Writer’s View:
Following the controversial sacking of Liam Rosenior, new boss Tim Walter will already be planning his squad for next season and will want to know as soon as possible whether Ozan Tufan can be part of those plans. If not, it is for certain the German would rather know sooner rather than later so he can work with the demanding Hull board to recruit a replacement for the man who provided 12 goals and assists last campaign.
Goal scorers are not easy to come by, but to have an experienced international socring 10 times from midfield is a luxury not many in the English second tier can boast. If Hull are to lose Tufan they may well struggle to replace him effectivley, at least with a permanent option.
