Hull City target Tom Huddlestone has other options, admits Grant McCann

Currently a free agent, the 34-year-old former England international midfielder has been training with the East Yorkshiremen since late July and featured twice during pre-season.

He initially linked back up with City in a bid to build his fitness having not played competitively since early 2020.

And while McCann has been fairly coy when asked about the likelihood of a deal being agreed that would see Huddlestone rejoin the club he represented between 2013 and 2017, the Northern Irishman explained on Thursday afternoon that chairman Ehab Allam is negoatiating with the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man.

But, with Hull currently operating under a transfer embargo after taking a cash loan from the Football League last term and unable to register more than 25 players, they need to free up space in their squad before they can sign anyone else.

“He’s still here,” McCann said. “Hopefully we will have some more news over the next couple of days but it’s Thursday now and we are trying to focus on the game [against QPR on Saturday].

“I’ve left that to Lee [Darnley] and Ehab to try and strike a deal with Tom if they can.”

City are not the only club looking to secure Huddlestone’s services, and while an agreement isn’t necessarily imminent at the MKM Stadium, McCann insists that the player knows exactly where he stands.

“He knows the situation, he’s been in training with us now for about three weeks and its well documented what our situation is,” Hull’s head coach explained.

“Tom will be no different, he has options, and I know that because he’s told me that he has options, but we’ll see how it goes over the next couple of days.”

Meanwhile, McCann has played down speculation linking Austrian winger Thomas Mayer with a move away from the club.

“He’s just come back from Covid, I don’t know where that has come from,” he said.

“I’ve been told by our media team that people are saying Thomas is leaving. Maybe people are just surmising, I don’t know. He’s training today.”

Mayer, plus team-mates Ryan Longman, Randell Williams and Sean McLoughlin are all available for the visit of QPR having come out of self-isolation, though Mallik Wilks misses out with an injury sustained during last weekend’s 4-1 win at Preston.