Ryan Mason was due to sign for Sunderland, but opted for Hull City instead.
Hull City pulled off a coup yesterday as they snuck in to lure Ryan Mason to sign for the club, when he was seemingly heading for Sunderland.
The Chronicle had reported that Mason was set to sign with the Black Cats, after making progress in negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur.
In the end it was the ex-Spurs connection at Hull which seemed to swing the move, with Mason joining a contingent of former Tottenham players at the KC Stadium which includes Jake Livermore, Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone.
Both Hull and Sunderland are expecting to be battling relegation from the Premier League this season, so this could be a transfer which proves it’s worth later down the line.
The fee was undisclosed, with Hull stating on their website it was a club record figure. The highest fee paid previously was the £10m for Abel Hernandez two years ago.
Mason has represented England at senior level and will be hoping to recapture the form of 2014/15 which saw him earn a call up.
Last season he lost his place in the Tottenham team due to Eric Dier’s emergence as a midfielder, and Victor Wanyama’s signing spelled out that he was not going to get more chances to play regularly.
Sunderland are desperate to add to their squad to try and improve on a disappointing start to the campaign which has seen them win just one point from a possible nine.
Supporters had been expecting to sign Mason after the reports early on Monday, and to see him clinch a move to Hull City did not go down well…
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