Hull City need Aston Villa deal not to be repeat of Crystal Palace disaster | OneFootball

Malcolm Ebiowei's promising career has already begun to fall by the wayside

Hull City's record in the loan market has been extremely mixed of late and Ruben Selles wasn't afraid to make several changes on this front during his first transfer window in charge of the club.

The Spaniard was able to acquire the services of Joe Gelhardt from Leeds United, Fenerbahçe's 28-year-old attacking midfielder Lincoln Henrique, and the highly-coveted Louie Barry from Aston Villa on a temporary basis, making up almost half of Hull's winter business.

Meanwhile, the Tigers also saw Carl Rushworth's bizarre loan move from Brighton and Hove Albion cut short amid an injury crisis at the AMEX Stadium, whilst Anthony Racioppi also departed the goalkeepers union in East Yorkshire after agreeing a loan-to-buy deal with FC Koln, three-goal striker Chris Bedia's short spell at the MKM was also terminated as he returned to the Swiss Super League with BSC Young Boys and Ryan Giles returned to Middlesbrough on a short-term basis.

It's no surprise that the recent addition of Barry has generated a vast amount of discourse among Hull supporters and outsiders, given his stellar stint at Stockport County in the first half of the campaign during a second loan move with the Cheshire outfit, as well as the high competition City were able to see off for his services.

Given Hull's previous development of Jaden Philogene in between the now-Ipswich Town man's two stints at Villa Park, comparisons have already been drawn between the two starlets.

It's obvious but the MKM Stadium faithful will be hoping for a repeat of such circumstances over Malcolm Ebiowei's loan spell from Crystal Palace two seasons ago, which proved disastrous for all involved.

With relegation a threat this season, they need Barry to be a success.

Malcolm Ebiowei's loan move to Hull City was a disaster

Ebiowei wasn't exactly a stranger to Championship football by the time of his arrival in East Yorkshire in January 2023, but having been handed his second-tier debut for Derby County - ironically against the Tigers - just 11 months previous, the winger had a lot of expectation on his shoulders.

The London-born attacker went on to make 16 appearances under Wayne Rooney at Pride Park, ending a difficult season for the Rams which included a 21-point deduction in fine fashion - following up an assist against Bristol City with a stellar performance against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, in which he scored his first professional goal and provided an assist for Eiran Cashin.

Having had brief stints in the academy setups of Arsenal and West Ham United, Ebiowei would relocate to the capital in the off-season with his bright talent clear to see.

The then 18-year-old would make his Premier League bow against Arsenal as a late substitute for Eberechi Eze in August 2022, before making just four further competitive appearances for the South London outfit by the turn of the year.

Liam Rosenior, who was just two months into his tenure as Hull boss after replacing Shota Arveladze, was no stranger to Ebiowei's potential, having worked alongside the aforementioned Rooney as his 'number two' in the East Midlands, before taking the reins in League One - albeit extremely briefly.

Even prior to the opening of the January transfer window, the Tigers and Swansea faced a potential transfer battle, before the winger's move to Hull was completed two weeks into the new year.

“He was my main attacking target from the moment I came in and everyone has worked hard to make it happen; I can’t thank Acun and Tan enough for backing me," Rosenior admitted.

Ebiowei was set back by a minor knee issue, but was handed his debut in a 27-minute cameo against Stoke City in February 2023, and was given a maiden starting berth in Black and Amber against Bristol City three games later.

Despite the strong interest in his services, Ebiowei would only complete a full 90 minutes on three occasions, with Rosenior admitting that his main difficulty was coping with the injury sustained at Selhurst Park prior to the loan move.

"His ability and quality is never in doubt, he's a fantastic footballer and I think he's got a chance of making it at a very high level - a very, very high level. What I think he's found difficult, coming in with his injury, which to be fair he was our main target and we were having conversations with Crystal Palace," he said.

The forward's final appearance for the Tigers came as a substitute in a 1-0 home success over Watford, but since the conclusion of his loan spell at the MKM Stadium, Ebiowei has failed to live up to the initial hype, with extremely underwhelming temporary switches at Belgian outfit RWD Molenbeek and most recently, Oxford United.

Ruben Selles factor gives Hull City hope that Louie Barry will succeed

Of course, there is a great deal of hype that continues to surround Barry at this moment in time, which dates back to his days in the La Masia academy setup of FC Barcelona at the tender age of 16.

The Sutton Coldfield-born attacker was an integral part of Villa's FA Youth Cup-winning side of 2021 and marked his solitary senior appearance for the Villans with a goal in the FA Cup as part of a youthful side that took on Liverpool in January 2021.

Since then, Barry's own experiences on loan have been mixed, to say the least, but two fruitful periods under Dave Challinor at Edgeley Park have seen his EFL career explode into life, and under Selles, there is hope that his management of young players from a tumultuous period in charge of Reading will see the 21-year-old return the favour with a healthy number of goal contributions in the final 16 games of the season.

In what could prove to be a tight relegation battle, the Tigers may need that sort of return to secure their Championship survival.

Having the versatility to play along the frontline will certainly aid Barry's cause, with his first appearance against Stoke City giving him plenty to build on, with reports suggesting that another loan agreement could be put in place next season between Hull and Villa should his current spell run smoothly, after signing a fresh long-term contract with the B6 outfit.