Acun Ilicali breaks silence on Hull City's transfer pursuit of Liverpool starlet Fabio Carvalho
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Acun Ilicali says Hull City are working hard to secure the signing of Portuguese starlet Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool in what would be a significant capture for the ambitious Championship club.
City have been working hard behind the scenes to convince Carvalho and Liverpool that they're the right place for the 21-year-old attacking midfielder to continue his development for the remainder of the season.
A deal is edging closer but Ilicali says there remains a little work to do in order for the move to be given the green light. There is a hope it can be concluded in advance of Friday night's home clash with Norwich City under the MKM Stadium lights.
The Tigers, who sit seventh in the Championship table and just one point off the top six, are battling a host of other clubs from both the Premier League and second-tier to sign Carvalho, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, playing nine times in the league and notching three appearances in the Champions League. Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Southampton and Leeds United are among the clubs linked with a move for the talented former Fulham youngster.
Speaking exclusively to Hull Live, Ilicali admitted he is hopeful that a deal can be struck, and believes it will be another significant show of ambition for the club as he heads towards his second anniversary as Tigers owner which comes up later this month.
"We are in a battle with some very big clubs, but we are Hull City," Ilicali said. "I say don't forget that Jaden Philogene picked us over 10 other clubs. We are very excited too. He is a very unique player and we really want to see him at Hull City, but as with every important transfer, we have big like some big rivals to sign him, from big Premier League clubs and many Championship clubs.
"At the end of the day, I want all our fans to know that we are Hull City, and when we want to transfer a player, we will always do our best and we will always show that we are a big club. We are a big family and we are a big club. So in this case, of course, it is not easy, but like with Jaden Philogene, it just happened very similarly that more than 10 teams were trying to take him to their clubs. They didn't give us too much chance at that time, but Jaden's choice was Black and Amber.
"We are doing everything for Fabio the same and I think we are trying to give the good news to our fans and we will show everybody what an ambitious club we are."
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