There was summer interest – Pandur
Goalkeeper Ivor Pandur has revealed how Hull City made attempts to sign him last summer, before finally sealing the deal in January when he arrived from Fortuna Sittard on a permanent deal.
Pandur is yet to make an appearance for the Tigers since his move from the Eredivisie but has been a regular on the Tigers bench in the last nine games as he awaits his Championship chance.
Having seen the move come close last summer, the highly-rated Croatian stopper admitted he followed City’s results closely in the first half of the campaign before talk of a switch to the MKM Stadium resurfaced again around the turn of the year.
“There was interest from Hull City in the summer and when I heard about it I was really excited because I always wanted to play in the Championship so the opportunity was amazing for me,” the Croatian youngster told the Mail in his first newspaper interview since arriving.
“Even in the summer I was keen to go but some things didn’t work out so I decided to stay (at Fortuna Sittard), stayed half a season and Hull were still interested.
“The way they explained the project and everything to me, I wanted to go and play on the bigger stage.”
As is so often the case, Acun Ilicali played a big part in the deal having held conversations with the 23-yearold, along with Liam Rosenior, goalkeeping coach Richardson, and vice-chairman Tan Kesler.
“It started with the chairman, of course,” he continued.
“He knew the chairman (Isitan Gun) in Fortuna Sittard, their relationship was really good and that’s how they made sure I knew I was wanted.
“Just before everything was finalised I had a talk with our gaffer, with the goalkeeping coach and sporting director. They were asking me some questions to get to know me.
“I was just talking about myself as a person more than a footballer because they already knew about me on the pitch.
“I wanted to know what their plan was for me. Since that video call I was sure I wanted to come here.”