Grant McCann delivers message on situation of free-agent who is training with Hull City | OneFootball

Hull City manager Grant McCann has suggested that the Tigers are just giving Tom Huddlestone the chance to train with them and build fitness at this stage, despite him featuring in their pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Huddlestone has been a free-agent for a while now following his departure from Derby County in the summer of 2020 and he will be aiming find a new permanent home this summer at some stage.

The experienced midfielder was a crucial player for the Tigers in his four years with the club making over 160 appearances and helped them earn promotion to the Premier League in the 2015/16 season.

The midfielder has been training with the Tigers in recent days and he was handed 45 minutes of action by McCann during Hull’s win against League Two Scunthorpe United on Saturday. That might have raised expectations that he could be about to be offered a deal by the club.

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Speaking to BBC Humberside, via Hull Live, McCann revealed that at this stage Huddlestone is just with the Tigers to build fitness and also provide some experience around the club during pre-season.

He said: “We’ve known Tom’s position for the last year or so. He’s a club legend and we’ve just given him the opportunity to come and train to build his fitness up.

“He can lend his experience around the changing room to the younger boys.

“People like Greavsey (Jacob Greaves), Keane (Lewis-Potter) are made up to see him come into the training ground the other day.

“What we’re doing is taking it day by day.

“We were umming and aahing over whether or not to play him today because he hasn’t played since the last time we played Derby in the Championship at Pride Park.

“To see him play 45 minutes today, you can see the quality he’s got on the ball.

“Tom will tell you, there’s a different intensity around the training ground. It’s going to take a bit of time and we’ll take it day by day.

“It was Tom who picked up the phone to us, and if he wants to come in and lend his experience over the next couple of weeks then great, we’re pleased to have him.”

The Verdict

This update suggests that at the moment, Huddlestone is not going to be handed a permanent deal with the Tigers imminently.

However, that could always change if the midfielder was to impress enough on the training ground and also in any other pre-season matches that he is given the chance to play in over the next few weeks.

The 34-year-old is exactly the right type of player to have around the squad with Hull heading for their return to the Championship, and if he can prove his fitness then it might well be wise to offer him a permanent deal this summer.

The midfielder has not played since the 2019/20 campaign and will therefore need to be given time to build up his fitness for sure.

He is a popular figure amongst Hull’s supporters and you could imagine that if he were to return it would be a major boost for them heading into the campaign. It will be interesting to monitor how his situation progresses over the next few weeks.