Pre-season cameo shows Hull City must resist Birmingham City, Wrexham AFC transfer interest: View | OneFootball

Ryan Longman impressed against Fiorentina for the Tigers amid recent claims on his future

Highlights

When a new head coach is appointed, it is often cliché that every member of his inherited squad is given a clean slate in pre-season. Hull City are no different under Tim Walter.

Regardless of what a player has achieved at said club previously, the majority of such work can be deemed irrelavent, although if a player has struggled for consistency, such standpoints are often utilised as a major boost to their confidence or immediate future in equal measure.

This strategy has been adopted at Hull to an extent in the lead up to the forthcoming campaign, mainly due to the vast amount of departures that have already occurred at the MKM Stadium since May, paving the way for those further down the pecking order to stake their claims for a first-team place under Walter.

And for one of those who wasn't a part of Liam Rosenior's plans throughout the 2023/24 season, a bright cameo in pre-season has reaffirmed the beliefs held by the hierarchy about their immediate future amid plenty of previous speculation.

Ryan Longman impressed in Hull City's friendly vs Fiorentina

That's in reference to Tigers winger, Ryan Longman, who has been the subject of mixed assessments from those of a Black and Amber persuasion ever since his move from Brighton and Hove Albion, which was made permanent in January 2022 after an initial loan deal.

The 23-year-old has featured heavily in pre-season under Walter, who has continued to adopt his intriguing style of play which saw Hamburg SV emerge as one of the 2.Bundesliga's stronger forces under his management, despite failing to achieve promotion.

City are currently lacking in depth on the wings, with the versatile Abdus Omur starting on the right side against Fiorentina, whilst Ryan Giles has been utilised in a more advanced role, despite Longman having the versatility to feature on either flank.

However, what supporters were treated with against Serie A side Fiorentina on Tuesday night was a really promising 45-minute cameo from the man who spent last season on loan at Millwall, which resulted in him drawing the Tigers level late in the second half.

Furthermore, Walter's system saw a lot of interchanging and neat link-up play, which Longman was at the heart of alongside the likes of Abdus Omur, Oscar Estupinan and Xavier Simons, who was also shipped out on loan to Fleetwood Town last term.

The forward's direct nature caused the Italian side some real problems in central and wide areas too, which also saw him test the resolve of Pietro Terracciano and his back-line on a handful of occasions, before eventually getting the better of him.

Pre-season cameos adhere to Tan Kesler's previous admission

The one question mark which has always surrounded the former AFC Wimbledon loanee has been his consistency in Black and Amber which, at times took a dip due to circumstances such as remarks from sections of the support in a 2-0 away defeat to Huddersfield Town in October 2022.

That was in fact, less than a year after the winger showcased what has arguably been his best form in a City shirt, which included strikes against Millwall, Bristol City, Everton and AFC Bournemouth, with the latter of those being a memorable late-winner against the eventual promotion-winners at the Vitality Stadium.

If anything, and this is often the case with wingers, it shows that Longman is a 'confidence player', having also shown similar veins of form since Neil Harris took over the reins at the Den in the latter stages of his loan spell with the South London side, which coincided with an upturn in results and the winger netting the club's Goal of the Season against eventual champions, Leicester City, before the Lions boss made his stance clear over a permanent deal.

From the perspective of many, it was hard to see his future being in East Yorkshire, especially after strong links to Derby County, Birmingham City and Wrexham, before Tigers CEO Tan Kesler's assessment on the situation, which his performances leading up to the first game of the season against Bristol City have adhered to.

"I know Ryan, we acquired him from Brighton with big expectations, so this year should be his year to deliver on the expectations," Kesler told Hull Live.

"I've seen a lot of interest in the media and we've had some serious inquiries now as well. I don't want to sell players, I want them to be better with us and go somewhere with us."

Whilst no official bids have come in from any of the aforementioned sides, it perhaps wouldn't be the biggest shock in the world to see any late bids lodged for the winger, given the ever-changing climate of the transfer window so far, in which Hull have fallen victim to themselves.

Derby do possess an abundance of wingers at present, but Paul Warne has somewhat of an ageing squad across the park, despite the experience both Tom Barkhuizen and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing can offer, whilst Birmingham boss Chris Davies has been tasked with building a "Championship-ready squad in League One," by his own hierarchy, and the project under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has enticed a number of previously seasoned Championship performers to North Wales.

Regardless of the well-documented ambitions all three of those clubs hold, Kesler's verdict is that Longman's current standing after such a fruitful period away is a high-end second tier performer.

"Ryan is like one of the special players for me that he needs, I'd say now it's his time to deliver and to be confident coming back to this team after a great season with Millwall. He should be feeling like a top Championship player and then deliver for us," the City CEO stated.

A pivotal season in Ryan Longman's career awaits

It's no secret that even with the Redhill-born wide man on their books, Walter is looking for wide reinforcements amid links to Liam Millar and Kasey McAteer, but he has more than shown his hand when it comes to regular first-team involvement across the next 10 months.

From his time in Germany, the 48-year-old head coach has shown numerous cases of players building on glimpses of potential to eventually reaching their ceilings, and Longman can definitely be the next cab off the rank in that regard, in what is a pivotal season for the 23-year-old.