Keane Lewis-Potter is not for sale, insists Hull City boss Grant McCann

The Tigers head coach has reiterated his belief that the young forward wishes to stay in East Yorkshire, stating categorically that he is not for sale despite the fact that protracted and all too-public negotiations over a new contract between club and the player’s representatives have been at an impasse for weeks.

Lewis-Potter, who would doubtless be a regular starter for the League One title-chasers under normal circumstances, once again found himself named as a substitute as City dropped two points at home to Blackpool on Saturday afternoon.

The 19-year-old’s omission from the first XI for the 10th consecutive fixture is due to the fact that if he starts one more game for his hometown team then a clause in his contract will be triggered, meaning that he is due a wage increase.

And, while a pay-rise has been successfully negotiated, the two parties cannot agree on the length of the new deal which Hull want Lewis-Potter to sign.

Little has changed recently in terms of either party’s stance, though McCann is constantly being questioned about the contract wrangle and didn’t hold back when the issue was once again brought up during his post-Blackpool press conference.

When he was asked if he felt Lewis-Potter’s representatives were trying to arrange a transfer for their client, he replied: “Of course they are. It’s as simple as that, it’s as black and white as that and it is really frustrating.

“They’ve said it to Lee Darnbrough [Hull’s head of recruitment], they’re going to try and bring offers to the club but it’s not going to happen. The boy is not for sale. We want him to stay here, we absolutely love Keano and he loves it here. Keane understands that this is the best place for him but unfortunately there’s a different agenda.

“Unfortunately, these lads sign the contracts with the agents. We just hope it gets resolved because it’s a ridiculous situation.”

Saturday’s clash with Blackpool saw Mallik Wilks fire City into a 51st-minute lead before Jerry Yates equalised late on, shortly after home defender Reece Burke saw red for a professional foul.

Hull City: Long; Emmanuel, Burke, Greaves, Elder; Honeyman, Smallwood, Docherty; Whyte (A Jones 79), Magennis (Lewis-Potter 72), Wilks. Unused substitutes: Ingram, Coyle, Slater, Chadwick, Salam.

Blackpool: Maxwell; Turton (Gabriel 82), Ekpiteta, Ballard, Husband (Garbutt 82); Lubala (Woodburn 63), Ward, Dougall (Robson 82), Kaikai (Virtue 58); Yates, Madine. Unused substitutes: Sims, Antwi.

Referee: S Barrott (England).

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