Hull City urged to be cautious over Alfie Jones decision amid £2m Middlesbrough transfer talk | OneFootball

Alfie Jones is the subject of strong interest from the Teesside outfit amid financial uncertainty at the MKM Stadium

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

The beginning of Sergej Jakirovic's reign as Hull City head coach has been far from ideal, with the club's financial situation remaining uncertain at this moment in time.

The Tigers were able to lift two transfer embargoes relating to loan deals for Louie Barry and Finley Burns from Aston Villa and Manchester City respectively, and are waiting to learn the fate of their appeal relating to a further three-window fee restriction after failing to make payments within a 30-day period.

Owner, Acun Ilicali, remains "confident" that the restriction will be upheld, although in the short-term, the main discourse surrounding transfer dealings has surrounded potential outgoings. This includes defender Alfie Jones, as talk of a £2m switch to Championship rivals, Middlesbrough, has surfaced in recent days.

Much like the East Yorkshire side, it has been all-change at the Riverside Stadium this summer, with Rob Edwards replacing Michael Carrick, and a report from Hull Live has outlined that the 42-year-old is an admirer of the centre-back who has spent the past five years at the MKM Stadium.

The scenario has split opinion among supporters in HU3. However, FLW's resident City fan pundit, Cameron Gibson, believes that no decision should be made until the club learns how it can operate in the current and upcoming transfer windows.

Hull City urged to hang fire on Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough transfer amid EFL appeal

The aforementioned report from HullLive states that the Bristolian has shown no desire to actively seek a departure from Hull, although the club are willing to accept the offer if personal terms between Jones and Boro can be agreed.

The 27-year-old's current deal could be extended by the club until the summer of 2027, which Gibson believes allows the club to eke out more funds for his services. But, he has urged Ilicali and the hierarchy to delay their final call for the time being.

"Coming into this summer transfer window, I did expect there to be options on the table for Alfie Jones," Cameron told FLW.

"He's going into the final year of his contract.

"There is a club option of an extra year which the club would probably take up if he was going to run his contract down, because there is value there. I would say between £2 million-£4 million, anything in that ballpark is a fair price for Alfie Jones.

"If we can get some potential bonuses or add-ons - subject to performance - we might be able to get more than £2m for him.

"If that's the first offer Middlesbrough have made, I would expect the club to try and negotiate and get some more money, but the owner has said he'd never stand in the way of a player if they want to leave. In my opinion, it's probably time - in Alfie Jones' head - to move on.

"He's going to be 28 in October. The next contract is probably going to be his final big contract, so I would presume that Middlesbrough would offer greater wages than what he's currently on at Hull City.

"I don't know if Alfie Jones is someone we'd like to offer an increased contract to if we recruited the likes of Semi Ajayi and John Egan, and then you've got the likes of Charlie Hughes in the squad. It's getting quite stacked in that department at Hull City, so losing Alfie Jones could be a smart bit of business.

"The only other alternative is, if he stayed this season, he'd be a bit-part player or have a run of games when there's injuries, and then it's whether they'd extend the club option or let him go on a free. So, if we could get a fee for him now, I don't think it's a bad bit of business."

"It may be subject to what happens with the embargo situation," Gibson continued.

"If we can't replace Alfie Jones, then I wouldn't sell him, just because we will need bodies - it's a 46-game season.

"If we aren't able to bring anybody in as an alternative, it might be worth keeping him. It's completely subjective to off-field matters. Just to bear that in mind, we might need to play this out for a bit longer and see what the outcome is with the EFL appeal."

Hull City may have to play the waiting game amid Alfie Jones, Middlesbrough developments

As Gibson alluded to, City's current centre-back options are rather stacked. However, within the aforementioned report, it is stated that Blackburn Rovers are interested in moving for Sean McLoughlin once more, with the Irishman also capable of filling in at left-back as seen throughout large parts of last season.

Jones has been a strong servant to the Tigers, making 191 appearances in black and amber thus far, featuring in a defence which has remained largely unchanged since the club's League One title-winning campaign of 2020/21 alongside the likes of Lewie Coyle and McLoughlin.

Last season saw the defender's performance levels take a hit, as was the case with many of his colleagues, after previously shining in an impressive centre-back duo alongside Jacob Greaves of Ipswich Town.

Therefore, the chance for Hull to make a profit on his services as he enters the final year of his contract would normally be welcomed and entertained. However, the current financial landscape and uncertainty in East Yorkshire means City should consider playing the waiting game, in order to not leave themselves short in a crucial department ahead of the opening day encounter against Coventry City.