Hull agree £8m deal to draft in Liverpool midfielder Stewart

New Tigers head coach Leonid Slutsky sees the 23-year-old as a key part of his plans to remodel the KCOM Stadium squad alongside free transfer arrival Fraizer Campbell following several high-profile exits.

Eldin Jakupovic, by joining Leicester City in a £2.5m deal, yesterday followed Tom Huddlestone, Curtis Davies and Harry Maguire in leaving Hull.Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady completed his switch to Aston Villa last night, whle Andy Robertson is close to joining Liverpool.

Stewart was wanted by West Brom, Swansea and Newcastle last January but Jurgen Klopp opted to keep a player who has made 20 appearances for the Reds on board.

Also busy in the transfer market this week are Leeds United, who yesterday confirmed the loan capture of Everton defender Matthew Pennington. The 22-year-old, a target for Hull before Leeds swooped, will spend the entire season at Elland Road after flying out to join his new team-mates at a pre-season training camp in Austria.

Heading the other way as Pennington touched down was Marco Silvestri, relegated to number three in the pecking order of goalkeepers at United by the arrival of Felix Wiedwald from Werder Bremen.

The Italian goalkeeper, who started Monday’s 3-0 defeat to Bursaspor in a behind-closed-doors friendly, has signed for Verona in Serie A for an undisclosed fee.

Silvestri’s departure follows the cancelling of Giuseppe Bellusci’s contract by mutual consent, the Italian centre-back understood to be in discussions with PAOK in Greece.