New Hull City boss Marco Silva is doing an extraordinary job of bringing together flops to build up his team. The Portuguese has mainly dealt in unused players and failures from other clubs with his tight budget this transfer season, and their recent win over Manchester United in the EFL Cup semis states that he is up for a fairy-tale ending.
Although the Tigers are still in the relegation zone and their next few league matches are against the top teams in the league, their last win has brought an air of confidence and hope at the KCOM Stadium. Silva has been quite active this transfer window getting almost all players he has targeted and according to latest reports, his latest and perhaps the last target before the window closes is Olympiakos midfielder Luka Milivojevic.
Hull’s midfield has been hugely raided this winter. Lack of funds has forced the club to sell two of their main players, Jake Livermore and Robert Snodgrass, to West Bromwich and West Ham United respectively. And to overburden that, the recent injury of midfielder Ryan Mason has left a huge gap in the heart of the midfield.
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder suffered a skull injury in Hull’s last league game against Chelsea. Silva had to play his right-back Sam Clucas out of position in the pivot and the boss is looking to avoid any such situation in the future. And Milivojevic seems like an ideal option to plug the gap.
The 25-year-old defensive midfielder has impressed hugely since moving to Greece from Belgium side Anderlecht in the summer of 2015. A key member of the Greek side as well as the national side, Milivojevic has scored has scored five goals in 16 Greek Super League games so far and is a key factor in Olympiakos sitting at the top of the table.
Although a defensive player by nature, Milivojevic can also play as a centre-half in a more advanced role. A youth product of Serbian side FK Radnicki 1923 Kragujevac, he has played for Red Star and RSC Anderlecht before moving to Greece.
Landing him will definitely be difficult for Hull as according to ESPN, Crystal Place, Watford, Leicester City, West Ham United and Southampton are all willing to land the player. West Ham United and Crystal Palace would definitely have the financial edge over the Tigers and it seems like Silva has to be more than just persuasive to get the player.
It was Silva, who signed Milivojevic during his managerial stint Olympiakos, and the man seems to know what he is doing. Although Olympiakos are reluctant to lose the player, they are expecting more offers for the player before the transfer window closes.
