Three players Marco Silva could sign at Hull City

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With Hull City currently bottom of the Premier League, new boss Marco Silva will have to get his signings right this January.

Hull City officially announced the appointment of Marco Silva earlier today, and the young Portuguese boss who has been likened to Jose Mourinho has little time to assess his squad and identify targets to bring into the KCOM Stadium.

New Hull City AFC Head Coach Marco Silva

With the Tigers currently languishing at the foot of the Premier League table, and much-maligned vice-chairman Ehab Allam recently claiming “two or three additions” were all that was required to make the East Yorkshire outfit good enough to survive, Silva will have to get his January recruits bang on the money to have any chance of maintaining Hull City’s Premier League status.

Silva’s first point of call could be his former clubs. Previously employed by Estoril, Sporting and Olympiacos, the 39-year-old has worked with a number of talented players on salaries Hull would be capable of matching or beating. Following Silva’s appointment, HITC Sport has taken a look at three players Silva may look to bring to the City of Culture this January.

Alexandru Maxim

Alexandru Maxim in action for Stuttgart vs Manchester City

A name which has already been mentioned by one or two media outlets as a possible target for Silva is Alexandru Maxim. The midfielder was linked with a move to Leeds United not long ago, but a January switch to Elland Road now seems unlikely.

Maxim’s favoured position is as an attacking midfielder, but the 26-year-old is also capable of playing on both the left and right wings, offering Silva some much-needed cover in those areas where the Tigers have very little depth.

Often a proponent of the 4-2-3-1 formation which has become so popular in the modern game, Silva would be markably short of players who could play in that 3 without recruits. Robert Snodgrass, Markus Henriksen, Shaun Maloney and Adama Diomande would be the only current options, with Maxim an upgrade on all barring Snodgrass at least.

Wilson Eduardo

Wilson Eduardo celebrates scoring for Braga

Hull City will almost certainly be in the hunt for a striker this January. Abel Hernandez is out injured with a cloud hovering over his future at the club, Dieumerci Mbokani is goalless and now away on African Cup of Nation duty and Adama Diomande is starting to look a little out of his depth, meaning it will likely be a priority position for Silva.

Wilson Eduardo is a man he knows from his time at Sporting. Although he was loaned out to Dinamo Zagreb under Silva, the young coach has a far poorer squad at the KCOM Stadium than he had at Sporting, and there are whispers that he could look to link up with Eduardo.

The pacy and well-rounded forward is reportedly on a very affordable salary at Braga, potentially making him more attractive to the Tigers, and is equally adept at playing on the left wing as he is playing up top, once again giving Silva greater versatility with a threadbare squad.

Omar Elabdellaoui

Olympiacos right-back Omar Elabdellaoui

Of all the early reports linking Silva with players at Hull City, the name Omar Elabdellaoui is the one which seems to make the most sense. A regular under Silva at Olympiacos, the 25-year-old is also a Norwegian international, and as such, he will be well-known to current Tigers duo Adama Diomande and Markus Henriksen.

A centre-forward and a right-back are priority positions for Hull City this January, and Elabdellaoui would satisfy the latter need. Capable of playing at right-back and as a right winger, he would be a welcome addition with Moses Odubajo out injured and Ahmed Elmohamady away at the African Cup of Nations.

A product of the Manchester City academy – much like the aforementioned duo – Elabdellaoui would give Silva greater flexibility through his own versatility, and would maintain the possibility of sticking with a 3-5-2. It is unlikely the Tigers will even make 3 permanent signings, with loans most probably their preferred method of business, but the three players named here seem the most likely of Silva’s early reported targets.

Marco Silva has to act fast this January