Fresh twist emerges in Hull City's Sergej Jakirovic approach as Acun Ilicali slammed | OneFootball

Hull's move to make Jakirovic their next head coach may not be as straightforward as first thought

Hull City may face a fresh road block in their attempts to hire Sergej Jakirovic as their next head coach, with his current club Kayserispor's president taking aim at Tigers owner Acun Ilicali over what appears to be an illegal approach.

The Turkish media mogul controversially sacked previous boss Ruben Selles just five months after plucking him from Reading, with the Spaniard keeping the East Yorkshire outfit in the Championship on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign.

A number of names were speculated upon arriving at the MKM Stadium, but it emerged last week that Jakirovic was the number one target for Ilicali, and he has been expected to become Selles' successor.

Kayserispor president hits out at Hull City owner Acun Ilicali over Sergej Jakirovic pursuit

Local reporter Mike White revealed on Wednesday that Hull are set to apply for a work visa for Jakirovic's expected arrival from Kayserispor - but their president has thrown a potential curveball over the move.

Nurettin Açıkalın is evidently furious over Hull's pursuit of the 48-year-old Bosnian, and has launched a personal attack on Ilicali - who is also involved at Kayserispor's Super Lig rivals Fenerbahce - himself, and has insisted no permission has been granted to talk to Jakirovic.

“We worked in harmony and carried the team to success. We had plans for the new season. Our coach did not say goodbye to us," Açıkalın told CNN Turk.

"He didn’t say he was leaving. However, the approach of Hull City President Acun Ilıcalı is not nice at all. This club has a president and a sports director. Permission was not received for a meeting."

Ilicali revealed he will talk to and meet with Kayserispor's president the day prior to these comments, but it appears that this saga could get a bit messier before it potentially gets resolved amicably.

Kayserispor could easily throw Hull City's Sergej Jakirovic plan into a spiral

From the view of Kayserispor, it appears that Hull have gone about their Jakirovic approach in an improper manner, and that could prove to be detrimental in their pursuit of his services.

Ilicali has clearly riled Açıkalın to the point where he has had to call him out publicly, and it may be a case that Hull have jumped the gun in a bid to hire the Bosnian.