Hull City will aim to be more athletic and better in possession next season, but sporting director Jared Dublin has warned they will not “do a Sunderland” if they win promotion to the Premier League next week.

The job of Dublin and Martin Hodge's recruitment team is complicated by the Championship play-off final a week on Saturday.

Lose, and Hull will have to sell players to refresh the squad, but win and they will be a nine-figure sum richer and determined to make their mark on the world's best and most high-profile domestic league.

Either way, they have a clear target for how they want to evolve their squad.

“We want to find our own little niche between models,” said Dublin, when asked how his club would go about it if they win promotion.

“There's the Sheffield United model (in 2019, when Dublin was on their recruitment team) where we were spending about half what we got on transfer fees and extra wages, the Ipswich model (in 2024), which was essentially to build a Championship all-stars side. They've done a great job under (Kieran McKenna).

“Leeds have gone really athletic and a lot taller (this season), and changed shape to a back three, and spent less than Sunderland but still triple-digit millions on fees alone – not just wages.

“Then Sunderland have taken world stars like (Granit) Xhaka and (Nordi) Mukiele from PSG. I don't expect us to have the sales of Jobe Bellingham and Tommy Watson to just go and blow it out like Sunderland but under this owner we're going to be ambitious.

WANTED MAN: Joe Gelhardt, on loan at Hull City from Leeds United (Image: Tony Johnson)

placeholder image — WANTED MAN: Joe Gelhardt, on loan at Hull City from Leeds United (Image: Tony Johnson)

“That's why I joined this club, to take that next step and have a real go at staying in the division.

“We're not going to set out to have success at Wembley to be a conservative team preparing for relegation.

“The players who have come here, the likes of (Oli) McBurnie and (John) Egan have been at other clubs who were yo-yoing to a certain extent, want to be in the Premier League and stay there.

“We've done a deep dive into every club that's managed to stay up in their first season and how we can pinch little bits off everybody in an approach that works for Hull City.”

CONTRACT EXTENSION: Regan Slater (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Under owner Acun Ilicali, Hull have made a virtue of pushing the limits of what they can spend, and even having been banned from buying players or paying loan fees for them in the last two windows, that puts restrictions on what they can do this summer if they do not go up.

“If we got a negative result at Wembley we would have to sell before we can buy,” said Dublin. “We're preparing for that. The Premier League's a different thing altogether – it would be SCR (squad cost ration) rules instead of P&S (profit and sustainability) so there's loads of moving pieces.

“But it will be evolution not revolution. Even in the Premier League it won't just be radical revolution.

“If we remain in the Championship we've been very clear we want to be more athletic and try and have a bit more of the ball in terms of how we receive it under pressure, how we win it back with the high pressing we see in the Champ’. They're two things we need to improve on.

PARALLEL PLANS: Hull City sporting director Jared Dublin (Image courtesy of Hull City)

“The 25 players we have are all under contract, so this group can go again but I'll be very clear with the owner and the gaffer that we can't just stay still.

“Although Coventry didn't rip up the whole thing (last summer), they did add Carl Rushworth and (Jahnoah) Markelo in January, so there are areas you have to constantly improve to avoid being stagnant. We don't just want to rip it up.

“We'll have a squad who've experienced a play-off final and gone two legs with a fantastic Millwall squad and come out victorious, so this group now has that in its top pocket.

“In January we needed players who were able to adapt to the league quickly, in the summer we have pre-season and time to bed them in so we can look abroad if needed.”

The lifting of fee restrictions this summer changes the landscape but the biggest difference is 12 months ago Hodge and co were trying to improve a squad which only escaped relegation on goal difference.

“What's changed is just the base level of the squad,” stresses Dublin.

Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs (Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“We've got a clear line of sight in terms of evolving in the Championship and trying to keep our best talent but bids come and go and sometimes you have to reinvest.”

Joe Gelhardt has been on loan from Leeds United for 18 months, and midfielder Regan Slater has had a one-year option activated.

“There's no option on Joffy (Gelhardt)'s loan as part of the EFL restrictions but the owner, myself and the gaffer have been very vocal and there's a will at both ends to continue,” explained Dublin.

“Now we know where Leeds are so we have to see where we are but Joff has been fantastic since day one and we'd love to keep him, irrespective of what division we’re in. I've been in touch with Reegs and his representatives. Everyone knows we've got a job to do at Wembley and we'll pick up the conversation after that.”