Financial twist emerges in Hull City's Wigan Athletic transfer pursuit | OneFootball

Hull City have been detailed what they must do in order to sign Wigan Athletic's Charlie Hughes this summer.

Hull City will have to pay more cash up front if they are to seal a move for Wigan Athletic centre-back Charlie Hughes this summer.

That's according to Alan Nixon via Patreon, who reports that the Latics want the money in "one hit" if they are to sell the £7 million-rated young defender to the Tigers.

Hughes has been one of Wigan's key players ever since making his debut during the 2022/23 Championship season, in which he was a shining light in an otherwise poor side who were relegated from the second tier.

The 20-year-old was then particularly impressive with Wigan in League One last season as they landed an unlikely top-half finish by overcoming the challenges of an eight-point deduction and a transfer embargo.

Hull have been interested in Hughes for some time now. According to the Hull Daily Mail, the Tigers made a bid of over £5 million for Hughes' services earlier in the summer.

However, the Latics want to hold out for more money, with Hughes one of the club's finest homegrown talents in recent times. Alan Nixon has previously reported that the Tigers have offered a guaranteed sum of £4.5 million-£5 million for the ex-Man City and Liverpool academy man, with a further £2 million proposed in add-ons.

The latest on Charlie Hughes' Wigan Athletic future as Hull City circle

Hull's squad needs considerable work before the window closes in just over two weeks' time. They have been searching for a Jacob Greaves replacement after the 23-year-old left for Premier League newboys Ipswich Town.

The latest from Nixon is that Hughes is their top target, but more cash up front is needed after the Tigers' attempts to split the deal into three sections.

Hull are prepared to pay the full £7 million asking price, but Wigan want a change to their payment plan and are seeking guaranteed cash to aid their own promotion push.

With a contract at Wigan until 2028, the Latics hierarchy are doing the right thing in trying to maximise their potential earnings from an asset, and a deal is not far away from completion for a player with obvious potential.

He was also left out of Wigan's starting line-up against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, but he did come off the bench in the second half - and it was his misplaced header that allowed Lloyd Jones to bag an 81st-minute winner for the Addicks.

Speaking post-match to clarify the situation, Shaun Maloney said on Hughes - and Hull vice-chairman Tan Kesler's decision to comment publicly on transfer negotiations between the two clubs: "It felt like a big decision but, in the end, the decision was pretty easy.

"Charlie's an amazing guy, a brilliant player, and it's been a very hard few weeks for him - the last week or so has been even harder.

"Obviously, being spoken about publicly has made it harder, but he's actually trained well for the last three or four days.

"The couple of weeks before, that was harder, and that's why we made the decision...when he went on, Will Aimson was starting to tire. "Since the day I've been here, Charlie has been great for me, he's got so much credit in the bank for me, I've got nothing but good things to say about him.

"When he's right off the pitch, I'm sure you'll see him at his very best again."

Charlie Hughes' potential amid Hull City transfer talk

Hughes demonstrated his talent last season, as he proved his defensive solidity, while he was also integral towards Maloney's philosophy of playing possession-based football out from the back.

Furthermore, the centre-half also has the ability to get in among goals for his team in important moments, and scored on four occasions last campaign, including a last-minute winner against Lincoln City back in April.

While the potential sale of the youngster would clearly help Maloney and co. from a monetary point of view, the departure of such a good player would not be an ideal outcome as far as on-field matters are concerned.