Hull City on cusp of Southampton transfer swoop but one hurdle remains | OneFootball

Hull City are looking to strengthen their squad before the 3 February deadline

Hull City have agreed a deal with Southampton for full-back Charlie Taylor.

According to the Sky Sports Transfer Centre (January 22, 11:28am), the Tigers have reached an agreement with the Premier League strugglers for the out of favour defender.

Ruben Selles is looking to bolster his first-team squad for the second half of the Championship campaign amid the Yorkshire outfit’s relegation battle, and the Spaniard has already landed four new faces in the form of Nordin Amrabat, Joe Gelhardt, Matt Crooks and Kyle Joseph.

Taylor has made seven appearances in the Premier League so far this season, which include only two starts, with the Saints sitting bottom of the table and looking on course for a swift Championship return.

Charlie Taylor yet to agree to Hull City move despite Southampton agreement

It has been reported that Hull have agreed terms with Southampton over a loan move for Taylor for the second half of the campaign, in what would be a big boost to their left-back ranks as Ryan Giles looks set to return to Middlesbrough.

However, ex-Burnley man Taylor has yet to give his own approval to joining up with the Championship side, meaning the deal is not yet close.

It’s understood that the decision over his future will be down to the 31-year-old, with other clubs in the second tier of English football also said to be interested.

Taylor has struggled for consistent game time at St Mary’s Stadium since making the summer switch from Burnley on a free transfer

He has appeared just the once since the appointment of Ivan Juric as manager in December, coming off the bench in a 5-0 drubbing at home to Brentford.

Charlie Taylor deal would be a positive short-term move for Hull City

Taylor is no longer a Premier League calibre player, but has plenty of top flight experience he can bring to a side that are currently struggling in a second tier relegation battle.

He is also more than capable of competing at a Championship level, and even helped Burnley to promotion as recently as 2023, where he featured 33 times under Vincent Kompany - albeit a lot of his starts were at centre-back.

Adding a left-back is something the Tigers should be prioritising in the mid-season transfer window, and Taylor could be a short-term solution that gets them to the summer.

He is of course a very different player to the outgoing Giles, who is more of a winger than a full-back, but what Taylor could bring is more defensive stability - something which Selles clearly needs at this moment in time.

If they can persuade Taylor to make the switch before the February 3 deadline, then he would be a solid addition to the squad, but with unnamed interest from elsewhere, it could be a struggle.