Hull City owner Acun Ilicali on verge of purchasing another club | OneFootball

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali is set to add to his sporting portfolio with the purchase of Shelbourne FC - based in the Republic of Ireland.

That is according to Hull Live, who believe that the Turkish media mogul is closing in on a deal to heavily invest in the League of Ireland Premier Division outfit.

Why Shelbourne?

It appears that Ilicali has been looking for a club in another country to purchase for a while to forge a close relationship with the Tigers, having bought the East Riding of Yorkshire club from Assem Allam last January.

Per the report from Hull Live, Ilicali sees Shelbourne - who are managed by former Chelsea and Newcastle United winger Damien Duff - as a club which could host City youngsters and develop them to give them experience of first-team football before it is decided if they are ready or not to step up to the first-team with the Tigers.

It is also believed that Hull could use their links to Shelbourne as an advantage when it comes to securing young Irish talents to move across to England.

Ilicali was also reportedly looking at fellow Irish club Dundalk when it came to investing in a European outfit and talks did occur between both parties, but their chairman Sean O'Connor revealed last month that negotiations had stopped.

What have the Irish club said?

A couple of weeks ago after Ilicali was spotted at a Shelbourne match, the club issued an update to their supporters regarding any potential investment, saying: "We are making good progress on the potential acquisition of our Stadium and in continuing to identify potential suitable, and like-minded, partner(s)."

No comment has been made since, but you'd have to imagine that a further update will come out across the Irish Sea when Ilicali has closed a deal.

The Verdict

This can only be positive for Hull City if Ilicali is committed to both clubs.

It will take far less finance to fund a club in the Irish leagues for the Turk, and even though there will be aspirations to take them to the top of the Irish Premier Division, his priorities will still be with the Tigers.

Some of Hull's young players could really benefit from this imminent acquisition though - the likes of Matty Jacob, Will Jarvis, Callum Jones and various others could head to Shelbourne and pick up some valuable experience as part of the deal.