Tigers sign Dudgeon as Pearson releases quartet

The Leeds-born left-back, 20, who has signed a three-year contract after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee, had a spell on loan with Carlisle this season but made only two appearances due to a knee injury.

Hull manager Nigel Pearson said: “Joe is another very promising young player and I think he’ll be a very good acquisition for us.

“He’s been schooled at an outstanding club. For us, it is about trying to get the right players in, not just in terms of the football side of it, but also in terms of their own mentality.”

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Matt Duke, striker Craig Fagan, defender Anthony Gardner and midfielder Tijani Belaid have all been released by the Tigers.

Both Duke, 33, and Fagan, 28, played for the Tigers in the Premier League.

“I’ve been here a long time and I’ve got a lot of feeling for the club so it’s really sad to be coming to an end,” said 33-year-old Duke, who had been at the Tigers for seven years.

“But it’s one of those things in football where you know your time will be up sooner or later.

“It didn’t really come as a shock,” admitted Duke.

“The goalkeeping situation this season gave me a pretty good idea about it.

“In the games I played I thought I did okay but the final decision always rests with the manager.

“There’s no bad feeling whatsoever. The manager has to make decisions he thinks are right.

“I wished him well and I hope he can bring a lot of success back to the club.

“I’ll leave with a lot of fond memories.

“I always had ambitions to play in the Football League so to have made it into the Premier League was very special.

“There’s a lot of bonds I built up over the years and I’ll leave a lot of friends behind.”

“It’s strange, I’ll be out of work in July,” he added.

“I’ve got faith that my ability will get me a club but it’s that unknown feeling.

“It might need me to move my family to the other side of the country but that’s one of those things.”

Former Spurs centre-half Gardner, 29, spent much of the season on loan to Crystal Palace.

Tunisian Belaid, 23, failed to make the necessary appearances to trigger a two-year extension on his initial deal signed when arriving on a free transfer in January.

Fagan has been injured for much of 2010-11 and made only four starts under manager Pearson.