Football League World
·19 October 2024
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·19 October 2024
FLW looks at three former Tigers plying their trade at a variation of current clubs
Moving on from Hull City has brought differing fortunes in recent years.
The likes of Jarrod Bowen, Keane Lewis-Potter, and more recently, Jacob Greaves, Jaden Philogene, Fabio Carvalho, and Liam Delap spring to mind as some of the more high-profile names to have been associated with the club in the past few seasons.
However, a number of players who once donned the Black and Amber have gone off the radar in that respect, regardless of their contributions when featuring for the Tigers.
With that in mind, Football League World looks at three ex-Hull players and their current whereabouts in the game, which may come as a surprise.
Jon Toral was signed for £3m in August 2017 after the club's relegation from the Premier League, with hopes that the Spaniard would replicate a stellar loan spell with Birmingham City just two seasons prior.
However, whilst the former Arsenal man showed why he was once so highly rated on occasions, Toral's City career was blighted by injuries, with the strongest of his three seasons at the club coming in his first, which saw him register one goal and four assists.
Toral would score four goals in 56 appearances for the club before leaving after relegation to League One was confirmed in July 2020, returning to Birmingham under Aitor Karanka for an underwhelming one-season spell.
The attacking midfielder spent the last three seasons with OFI Crete FC of the Greek Super League, which included a return of six goals and two assists in 21 games back in 2022/23.
After leaving the Island-based outfit, Toral signed for Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC in the summer, making his debut for the club in a 2-2 draw against Mohun Bagan SG in September.
Moses Odubajo's Hull City career always comes with a tinge of regret on reflection, having enjoyed a stellar debut campaign, before suffering major misfortune.
A reported £3.5m signing from Brentford in August 2015, the full-back went on to play 53 times for the club in the promotion-winning campaign, which included a deflected effort in the play-off semi-final first leg away to Derby County.
Some would argue that Odubajo was ahead of Andy Robertson - who has since won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League with Liverpool - in terms of performance levels throughout the campaign, but a serious injury against Grimsby Town in July 2016 meant the former Leyton Orient man would never get the opportunity to feature in the top flight with Hull.
The club would change managers five times before Odubajo left the club after rejecting a reduced contract offer in the summer of 2018 and returning to Brentford, before featuring for Sheffield Wednesday and most recently, Queens Park Rangers in the English game.
However, the right-back would then move to Greece with Aris F.C of the Greek Super League, making 69 appearances for the club between 2022 and 2024, before making a switch to AEK Athens this summer.
Abel Hernandez remains a cult figure among many Tigers fans for his exploits, mainly in the 2015/16 promotion-winning season.
The Uruguayan was a then-club-record transfer when acquired by Steve Bruce 12 months before, joining from Palermo for £10m.
However, despite notable goals against West Ham United on his debut, Arsenal and Chelsea, Hernandez's first season in the English game was underwhelming as City suffered relegation from the Premier League.
But, the striker would eventually endear himself to the MKM Stadium faithful with 22 goals in all competitions the following campaign, which included a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Charlton Athletic, and an iconic goal against Derby in the play-offs.
Hernandez once again struggled for consistency in the Premier League, despite being part of a 'double-bicycle-kick' move alongside Adama Diomande in a 2-1 victory on the opening day of the season against reigning champions, Leicester City.
His second hat-trick for the club came in a 4-1 rout over Burton Albion in August 2017, but in the following game with Wolves, the striker suffered a serious Achilles injury, keeping him sidelined until March 2018.
A respectable tally of eight goals in 10 appearances was recorded in his final season, taking his overall count to 39 goals in 110 appearances for the East Yorkshire side, before joining CSKA Moscow at the expiration of his contract.
After spells in Russia, alongside featuring for Al-Ahli, Internacional, Fluminense, Atlético San Luis, Penarol, and Rosario Central, the 34-year-old signed for Liverpool FC Montevideo last month - scoring his first goal for the club on October 15th against Montevideo Wanderers.
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