Leeds target Hernandez as McGregor exits Hull
ALLAN McGREGOR last night signed for Rangers and striker Abel Hernandez could well be the next big-name player to leave Hull City.
The Tigers goalkeeper is manager Steven Gerrard’s second signing at Ibrox following the capture of Scott Arfield from Burnley this week, and he has signed a two-year deal in Glasgow.
And out-of-contract Hernandez could be the next star player to leave the KCOM Stadium, with Yorkshire rivals Leeds United keen to take the striker to Elland Road.
United want to secure Hernandez on a free transfer with the Uruguayan set to part company with Hull after four seasons at the KCOM Stadium.
Hernandez’s deal expires on June 30 and the forward has not accepted an extension with Hull, despite being offered what Tigers manager Nigel Adkins called “one hell of a contract”.
Hull are fighting to prevent a player who cost £10m in 2014 leaving for nothing but Hernandez is at the top of Leeds’s list of centre-forward targets and United have been drawing up an offer for the 27-year-old.
Hernandez missed most of this season with a ruptured Achilles tendon but still managed to amass eight goals, despite playing only 10 times.
He returned to full fitness in March and helped to keep Hull clear of relegation but he is likely to move on from City, a club he helped win promotion to the Premier League in 2016. Hernandez – originally signed from Palermo for a club-record fee – was close to a £20m move to Aston Villa that summer but failed to agree personal terms.
McGregor – another City player from the 2016 promotion side – was out of contract at Hull and had knocked back Tigers boss Adkins’s offer of a new deal.
Instead, the 36-year-old has decided to return to Rangers six years after quitting in the wake of the Scottish club’s financial meltdown. The 35-cap Scotland international won three league titles, a hat-trick of Scottish Cups and five League Cup titles during his first Rangers stint.
However, after McGregor joined the exodus of big-name stars from the Glasgow club in 2012, he spent a year with Besiktas in Turkey before joining Hull City.
He has since racked up almost 150 appearances for the KCOM Stadium club but has now decided it is time to return north.