Hull City set for transfer swap to avoid overspending punishment
Hull City are set for a goalkeeper swap with Rangers as they look to navigate financial fair play restrictions.
As a result of the Football League's profit and sustainability rules, the Tigers need to raise around £6m by Tuesday, before being able to spend lavishly from Wednesday.
Kyle Joseph is on the verge of a £5m move to Middlesbrough which should raise around £2.5m in profit, and the Tigers are poised to sell Ivor Pandur to Rangers, with experienced goalkeeper Jack Butland coming in the opposite direction.
The fee for the Croatian is expected to be around £6m – a £4.5m profit on what Hull paid for him in January 2023.
Until the end of June, Hull are operating under Football League rules, which state that clubs are only allowed to lose £39m over any three-year accounting period. As of the end of last season, they were due to lose around £45m between July 2023 and June 2026 without taking action.
That would have led to a six-point deduction in next season's Premier League after Hull won the Championship play-offs in May, falling with every saving made.
Wages and transfer profits come into the equation, with Tuesday night effectively becoming a second transfer deadline for clubs in risk of breaches.
Now 33, Butland is a hugely experienced former England goalkeeper whose CV included loan spells at Leeds United and Barnsley when he was coming through at Birmingham City. He made a permanent move to Crystal Palace in 2020 but was very lightly used, loaned to Manchester United as a back-up before being sold to Rangers three years ago.
He has made more than 100 appearances since, but is thought to be hankering for a move back to England.
Despite being the youngest goalkeeper capped by England when he made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2012, he has only won nine caps.
He is likely to have a fight on his hands to be Hull's No 1, with the Tigers have planned to bring in a goalkeeper to challenge Pandur this summer.
The Croatian played every league game bar one last season, when he was given more time after a first senior international call-up. He is currently at the World Cup, yet the third-choice goalkeeper remains uncapped.
As of Wednesday, Hull will be operating under the Premier League's new financial fair play rules. Under their squad cost ratio regulations, the Tigers can spend 85 per cent of their football-related revenue and net profit/loss from player sales.
Hull have also been linked with Manchester United goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who is keen for regular first-team football after impressing on loan at Bristol City, as well as Sporting Braga’s Lukas Hornicek and Bayern Munich’s Alexander Nubel.