Hull City could have shared Middlesbrough's player love-in - agent comments blur saga though | OneFootball

Juninho was close to becoming a Tiger in the summer of 2007

Hull City supporters have seen many great players line up in Black and Amber over the years, but there have also been plenty of talents who have slipped through the net.

In recent years, current Liverpool duo Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are two examples who Steve Bruce attempted to lure to the MKM Stadium during the club's most-successful period, before missing out to Southampton and FC Basel on those fronts prior to the duo's long-standing success at Anfield.

However, it wasn't too long before that when former owner, Paul Duffen, and the man in the dugout, Phil Brown, were able to attract Nigerian superstar, Jay-Jay Okocha, to East Yorkshire, despite the fact the Tigers had never played a single top-flight game in their history at the time.

The former PSG man joined a side made up of players who had risen with Hull from their days in League Two in the form of Boaz Myhill, Andy Dawson, Ian Ashbee and Ryan France, alongside plenty of experienced and high-quality names such as hometown heroes Nick Barmby and Dean Windass, as well as Bryan Hughes and Okocha's former Bolton Wanderers teammate, Henrik Pedersen.

And, on top of all that, Hull came extremely close to securing the services of another former Premier League star, before their agent hit out against the club for their handling of transfer talks.

Hull City almost added Juninho to star-studded list of incomings

Juninho had lit up the top flight for Middlesbrough on three occasions, initially joining the North East outfit for £4.75m during the club's first season at the Riverside Stadium, scoring 17 times for the club during his first spell, which ended in relegation back to the second tier despite reaching both the EFL Cup and FA Cup finals in the same campaign, as well as winning the Premier League's Player of the Season award for 1996/97.

Just a year after moving to Atletico Madrid for £13m, 'The Little Fella' would return to the club on loan, scoring five times in 35 appearances as the club finished 12th, before rejoining permanently for a third spell in July 2002 for £6m.

The 49-time Brazilian international's flair hadn't shown any signs of slowing down at this point either, as he played an integral part in kick-starting the most successful period in Boro's history, netting an iconic strike at Highbury in the EFL Cup semi-final against Arsenal's Premier League 'Invincibles' before featuring in the 2-1 victory against Bolton Wanderers in the final at the Principality Stadium - Middlesbrough's only major trophy to date.

The São Paulo native featured 149 times for the club before joining Celtic in the summer of 2004, before returning to his home country, featuring for Palmerias and Flamengo between 2005 and 2007.

However, after Duffen acquired Hull from Adam Pearson for £13m after the club narrowly avoided a return to League One the previous season, the man who won the 2002 FIFA World Cup would hold talks with the Tigers despite facing competition from Brazilian and Qatar-based clubs.

"It is true that we are planning to meet Hull to have talks over a move," his agent, Jonathan Hassall stated.

However, City were unsuccessful in striking a deal with the then-34-year-old, with Duffen explaining: "We haven't managed to get completely together on the financial aspect of the deal."

In a dramatic end to such speculation, the aforementioned Hassall then hit out against the club, claiming the entire negotiation process was used for PR.

"We just feel that he's a new guy who has come into football and used Juninho to publicise Hull but then backtracked on what he's said," he explained.

"He wanted a World Cup star and the publicity it has created has got Hull on radio, television and in the newspapers.

"The interest he's created has been frightening but I fear he has just been used as a marketing tool."

Unexpected Hull City promotion eventually gave the Tigers a Brazilian superstar

Although it would've sent even further shockwaves through the Championship, it's fair to say that the 2007/08 season saw Brown's side do just that because of their performances on the pitch.

Duffen set out a three-year plan for the club to reach the Premier League, and they were able to deliver success within the first campaign, as Dean Windass' memorable strike saw City defeat Bristol City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium, ending a 104-year wait for top-flight football in this part of the world.

Subsequently, Duffen would then be able to successfully pursue a Brazilian star in the form of Geovanni, previously of Barcelona and Manchester City.

The playmaker, like the aforementioned Juninho is at the Riverside, immediately became a cult figure by netting the club's first-ever top-flight goal against Fulham, before firing in memorable strikes against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur during a season of mixed fortunes, as City survived on the final day of the season at the expense of the Teesside outfit and Newcastle United.