Hull City's £1m Aston Villa agreement is further redemption for Acun Ilicali | OneFootball

The Tigers' transfer dealings this window continue to impress

Once again, Hull City's activity across the winter transfer window has caught the eye of many on the outside.

This time last year, it was the agreement which brought Fabio Carvalho to the MKM Stadium from Liverpool which created a high amount of discourse amid interest from Southampton, Leicester City and Leeds United for the now-Brentford based playmaker, and a similar occurrence has panned out at the start of 2025, despite Hull's current league position.

Since taking charge in East Yorkshire in early December, Ruben Selles has been able to get a much more consistent tune out of the men in Black and Amber, with last Friday's 3-0 victory over Sheffield United by far and away the most controlled and dominant performance of the season.

Previous pessimism has now turned into firm optimism that Hull can comfortably survive in the Championship and push up the table during Selles' first full season, which has been echoed in the transfer market, with all of Matt Crooks, Joe Gelhardt, Nordin Amrabat, Kyle Joseph, Lincoln Henrique and Eliot Matazo all making strong first impressions to supporters.

Owner Acun llicali has come under scrutiny as a result of the club's previous transfer dealings since his takeover in January 2022, but there's no disputing that the club have nailed what was billed as the most pivotal window of his three-year tenure thus far.

And, by striking a reported £1m loan agreement with Aston Villa, the Turkish media mogul will feel an even greater sense of redemption as far as transfer business is concerned.

Hull City fend off strong competition for Louie Barry signature

Ever since being recalled from a stellar second loan spell at Stockport County at the start of the month, one of the main talking points across the EFL has been which club Louie Barry would join on a temporary, or potentially permanent basis from the Villa Park side.

The attacker, who was once on the books of Barcelona's La Masia academy system after joining from West Bromwich Albion as a 16-year-old, has unsurprisingly been a target for those at the top of the Championship as the likes of Leeds United, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough target an array of difference-makers in their respective Premier League pursuits.

SPFL giants Celtic also threw their hat into the equation. But, as showcased with previous dealings involving the now Ipswich Town man Jaden Philogene, Hull have built up a strong rapport with the Villans, who have a number of hot prospects coming through the ranks at Bodymoor Heath.

The aforementioned seven-figure sum was said to have been agreed after Ilicali held lengthy talks with Villa owner, Nassef Sawiris over the possibility of striking an agreement amid speculation involving a whole host of clubs, as well as Hull's own pursuit of Huddersfield Town's Sorba Thomas.

Since then, images of Barry arriving at the MKM Stadium to complete the formalities have spread on social media, which will only excite Tigers fans even further.

Louie Barry deal would give Acun Ilicali further transfer window redemption

After a largely disappointing campaign by comparison to last season, Ilicali and the recruitment team at the MKM Stadium came under immense pressure, and not for the first time regarding transfers.

Despite losing several key individuals in the summer, it was believed by many that City had taken a scatter-gun approach to their summer recruiting, which saw them make 17 new signings - several of those were also completed in the latter stages of the window.

However, this was a complete contrast to the current predicament, where a mixture of youthfulness, Championship experience and midfield steel - the latter of which have been stated as necessities for quite some time - has been added among the ranks, with Selles also quick to reference the immediate impact many have had in such a short period.

Of course, there have been a handful of transfer mishaps and big calls which have divided opinion, with Ilicali remaining defiant over his transfer strategy.

However, if Barry is to emulate the aforementioned Philogene's impact at the MKM, he will be feeling a strong sense of redemption, and so will the supporters, as you'd be very hard-pressed to find many who can find a fault in Hull's dealings this winter.

Ruben Selles' record suggests Louie Barry has made the right call

Of course, given Hull's league position in comparison to some of their competition in this long-winded transfer tussle, some believe that Barry may live to regret the decision to not help the likes of Daniel Farke or Chris Wilder in their respective promotion bids.

However, in his short time in charge, Selles has got the best out of several young players, with the likes of Mason Burstow, Abu Kamara, Gustavo Puerta and Fin Burns all having key impacts of late, as well as the recent addition of Gelhardt, who netted a remarkable lob on debut against QPR last week.

Selles has gained a reputation as one of the best managers in the EFL for developing young talent, although partly down to his hands being tied when it came to transfer dealings during his spell at Reading, during which the squad with the lowest average age in League One was able to survive by nine points, despite being hit with a six-point deduction overall.

Creative assets such as Lewis Wing, Charlie Savage, Femi Azeez and Harvey Knibbs were all given license to flourish last term, and although Barry has, on paper, struggled for consistency anywhere outside Edgeley Park, the Spaniard will look to have a similar influence on the 21-year-old.

The Sutton Coldfield-born frontman was eventually knocked off the top of the League One scoring charts by Richard Kone in midweek. And, although the Championship is a whole new kettle of fish for Barry, having never played second tier football before, getting close to his previous numbers of 15 goals in 23 games, 0.75 goals per game and a goal every two hours could be key in Hull's good recent run continuing.

Barry, like the aforementioned Gelhardt, is capable of operating out wide and in the middle, which gives Selles plenty to think about, especially when it comes to featuring an array of dynamic forward players in the same side, although based on last Friday's evidence, that proved no issue.

The Tigers will also look to lift their recent MKM Stadium curse in what is likely to be the attacker's first involvement in Black and Amber, as they face Stoke City in a key encounter on Saturday afternoon.