Hull City set to complete surprise signing of 37-year-old striker | OneFootball

Sitting sixth in the Championship table at the time of writing, Hull City are well and truly play-off contenders in the second tier thanks to the work of head coach Liam Rosenior.

What will help the Tigers' chances of finishing inside the top six though is adding some more experience and quality to their ranks in the January transfer window when it opens.

And the East Riding of Yorkshire outfit are wasting no time in trying to make that happen, with a transfer move already agreed in principle for a new striker.

Hull City set to sign Sharp

Owner Acun Ilicali confirmed on Monday evening that the Tigers had already agreed a deal for one of their mid-season transfer targets in a bid to bolster Liam Rosenior's squad, but it would not go through until the opening few days of January.

And per BBC Radio Humberside's Mike White, the identity of the mystery player is veteran striker Billy Sharp, whose short-term contract at MLS outfit LA Galaxy will come to an end on December 31.

The 37-year-old scored six times in 12 appearances for the Los Angeles-based side, but he's now set to return to England and give Hull an added boost in the final third for the second half of the campaign.

Sharp has been a prolific scorer for much of his career in English football, and despite never really making the step up to Premier League level, he remains to this day one the Championship's best strikers of all time, with a season high of 23 for Sheffield United in 2018-19, as well as two 30-goal League One campaigns for both Scunthorpe United and the Blades.

In the last five seasons though, aside from his 14-goal haul for his boyhood Sheffield United side in 2021-22, Sharp has failed to find the back of the net with regularly, especially in the top flight of English football, but his one goal in every two matches in the United States recently was a positive sign.

Sharp could be great experience for Hull in second half of the season

Hull of course will have aspirations of being in the play-offs at the end of the season, but they lack depth in the striker area of the pitch.

Liam Delap has shone on loan from Man City, whilst Aaron Connolly is the other option for Rosenior, with the Irishman being Delap's understudy for much of the campaign since he signed a permanent contract at the MKM Stadium.

Connolly himself has scored six times despite splitting his time as a starter and a second half impact substitute, but adding a third option in the form of Sharp wouldn't be the worst thing to do.

He may only have scored twice in the Championship last season, but he did miss eight big chances in that campaign, which suggests his goalscoring touch is waning slightly the older he gets.

But as someone to bring on late on in matches when chasing three points, this could be a smart deal for Hull to get done.