Why Hull City signing Lee Cattermole could be a shrewd business
According to reports from the Sunderland Echo, EFL Championship side Hull City are mulling over making a loan move for Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole.
The Black Cats, having been relegated to the League One, are looking to clear their wage bill. And with Cattermole being one of their highest earners, the club are keen on offloading him before the transfer window shuts down.
To that end, the experienced midfielder was left out of the side that faced Charlton Athletic in their season opener this past weekend. With the club willing to let him leave and the player too seeking swift resolution to the situation, the field is open for Hull City to land the 30-year old this summer.
Having finished in a lowly 18th spot last season, the Tigers are off to a poor start to the new campaign, as they were thrashed 3-1 by Aston Villa on the opening day at the KCOM Stadium on Monday night. While manager Nigel Adkins has brought in as many as six new faces this summer transfer window, the Hull squad seems to be lacking that quality needed to improve their results from last time out.
It hasn’t helped that the Tigers have lost a number of experienced players this summer, with the likes of Allan McGregor, Michael Dawson, Sebastian Larsson, David Meyler and Abel Hernandez all departing from the club.
While reinforcements have arrived in the goalkeeping and defence departments, lack of replacements for the midfield duo of Larsson and Meyler is something that could come to haunt Hull.
And this is where signing Cattermole could come in extremely handy for Adkins’ side. The 30-year-old midfielder is a vastly experienced customer with over 350 career appearances spanning over thirteen years with Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, 272 of which have come in the Premier League.
While he may be relatively new to the Championship, having played just 35 games, his know-how of the English game and years of top-flight experience will prove to be of great value for the Tigers.
Hull have numbers in the middle of the park in the form of Kevin Stewart, Markus Henriksen, Jackson Irvine and Daniel Batty. However, they lack the presence of an authoritative figure who would assert himself on the pitch and in the dressing room – something that Cattermole would execute perfectly.
Known for his tenacious, tough-tackling approach, the former England U-21 youth international is a leader on and off the field and Hull could definitely use someone of his ilk and quality in their ranks if they are to fare better than how they did in the 2017/18 season.
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The 30-year-old might not prove to be the most popular acquisition, but with his volumes of experience and knowledge, he could prove to be a shrewd addition to the Hull squad.