Hull City: 3 Ruben Selles replacements Acun Ilicali could consider amid "controversial" exit talk | OneFootball

FLW looks at three managers the City owner could be considering amid fresh developments surrounding Selles' future

Hull City supporters were left stunned on Saturday night as, just hours after securing their Championship safety, reports emerged regarding the uncertainty of head coach Ruben Selles' future.

The Tigers were able to stave off relegation by virtue of goal difference, as Matt Crooks' third goal since joining from Real Salt Lake in January proved pivotal, with a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth enough to keep City's heads above water as Luton Town succumbed to a 5-3 defeat at West Brom.

In truth, it has been a disastrous campaign for all concerned at the MKM Stadium, with City unable to gain any form of consistency throughout the second-tier season, with Selles accumulating 34 of the club's 49 points during his first 27 league games in charge.

However, just hours after the full-time whistle was blown at Fratton Park, Mike White of BBC Radio Humberside dropped an almighty bombshell that the City hierarchy are considering a change, and that it would feel more surprising if the Spaniard was in the dugout for the first game of 2025/26 than not.

Owner, Acun Ilicali, has split opinions among the 'Tiger Nation' in the past 12 months, ever since parting ways with Liam Rosenior after last season's seventh-placed finish.

But, with the aforementioned developments in mind, here are three names the Turkish media mogul could be considering with a possible change in mind.

Marti Cifuentes

Marti Cifuentes kicks off this list, with the Spaniard recently placed on gardening leave by Queens Park Rangers amid interest from another of Hull's divisional rivals, West Brom.

Whilst it was soon dismissed that the former R's boss would be moving to The Hawthorns, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Spaniard linked with a plethora of vacancies in the summer, especially if a handful in the second-tier become available although City would have to part with a compensation fee for his services.

Like Selles, Cifuentes was brought in to initially stave off relegation before progressing the West London outfit forward.

To an extent, he was able to do so, despite a poor start to this season, with Rangers looking as if they could break into the play-off picture at one stage, before fading away in the season's latter stages.

The 42-year-old earned mixed reviews during his time at Loftus Road, reflected with a points-per-game average of 1.30 after winning 28 of his 82 games in charge, which showcases mid-table form.

Despite achieving such feats with limited resources, it remains to be seen what the Spaniard could achieve with strong backing and stability, although the second of those buzzwords doesn't exactly equate to current goings-on in East Yorkshire right now.

Gary O'Neil

Next up is Gary O'Neil, who may be willing to drop into the second-tier after mixed spells with Bournemouth and Wolves in the Premier League.

The former midfielder performed admirably after being thrown into the 'deep end' at the Vitality Stadium following Scott Parker's dismissal, with a run of seven victories in 12 games between February and April 2023, including scalps over Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur seeing the Cherries to safety after promotion, before he was controversially replaced by Andoni Iraola.

O'Neil was then thrust into a similar scenario at Molineux after Julen Lopetegui walked out just days before the start of the 2023/24 season.

However, the 41-year-old was able to get the best out of a relatively new squad which included star man, Matheus Cunha. The West Midlands side found themselves as high as ninth by gameweek 28, before an injury-ravaged end to the season saw any hopes of Europe fade into the abyss.

His final months in WV1 didn't go to plan, however. Wanderers won just two of their first 16 games this season and just three of O'Neil's final 26 league games in charge despite losing the likes of Pedro Neto, Max Kilman and Daniel Podence in the summer, and he was sacked after a chaotic 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town in December.

However, his stock is still relatively high with previous links to Blackburn Rovers, as well as Joe Jacobson exclusively telling FLW that he would be an ideal fit for Wolves' Black Country rivals. Therefore, he could be another shrewd move as well as being a homegrown appointment.

Pedro Martins

The last name on this list will be somewhat familiar to City supporters, as Pedro Martins was seen at the MKM Stadium back in 2022 when Ilicali looked to replace Shota Arveladze.

Currently in charge of Al-Gharafa, the Portuguese saw the Tigers defeat Wigan Athletic in October 2022 alongside Ilicali in the directors' box, although a three-year deal which had been "verbally agreed" fell through, with the aforementioned Rosenior taking the reins just weeks later.

The former Olympiacos did describe negotiations with the Championship side as an "honour," meaning the Turkish owner and his staff clearly left some sort of impression on the experienced 54-year-old.

His current side are currently third in the Qatar Stars League after 22 games, with the likes of Joselu, Rodrigo and Aron Gunnarsson among the ranks as familar names to supporters of Stoke City, Leeds United and Cardiff City.

Whilst the squad Martins would be inheriting these days is vastly different to that of three years ago, he could still be on Ilicali's radar with plenty of individual talent still among the ranks.