Hull’s recruitment drive stalls with rejection of Bentley bid

Tigers manager Steve Bruce. Picture by Tony Johnson

HULL CITY are assessing their options after seeing a bid for highly-rated goalkeeper Daniel Bentley rebuffed by League One side Southend United.

Tigers boss Steve Bruce, keen to kick-start the club’s summer recruitment with no new signings having yet arrived, watched the 22-year-old in action against West Ham on Saturday.

The Tigers subsequently tabled a bid, believed to be around the £1m mark, but Shrimpers chairman Ron Martin has revealed that the offer for Bentley, also linked with Bristol City, was rejected.

While the development represents a knock-back for Hull, the fact that the club are starting to make active moves in the market after a summer which Bruce has described as his most difficult in management is likely to provide him with some succour.

The development over Bentley arrived on the back of comments from Bruce stating that he will consider his future if the board’s plans for 2015-16 season did not match his own ambitions to secure an instant return to the top flight.

Bruce, whose plans to bring in new signings have thus far been hamstrung by the need to get a number of high-earners off the books, will hold talks with owner Assem Allam on Thursday.

The Geordie, about to embark upon his fourth season of management with Hull, is keen for the club to kick-start their quest for an immediate promotion assault and is likely to seek further reassurances during the meeting with the club’s hierarchy.

Bruce said: “I’m hoping that on Thursday, we can all sit down and navigate a plan to get us back to where we all want to be.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll be perfectly happy.

“If not, then I’ll ask the question of exactly what they want to do.

“If I don’t think we have a chance of getting back up, I would consider my position.

“But I still believe when we have the meeting on Thursday, I will be given a chance to rebuild this side.”

Meanwhile, Doncaster Rovers have signed Wigan Athletic left-back Aaron Taylor-Sinclair on a two-year deal from Wigan Athletic.

The 24-year-old Scot is Rovers’ fifth close-season arrival following the earlier captures of Andy Williams, Thorsten Stuckmann, Gary MacKenzie and Richard Chaplow.