West Ham prevented Hull City seeing full worth of £6.5m investment: View | OneFootball

It was short, it was sweet, but Nikica Jelavic’s time at Hull City could have developed into so much more if it wasn’t for his hasty move away from Humberside.

The Croatian joined the Tigers in the January of 2014 - moving from fellow Premier League side Everton - and immediately set about turning his side’s fortunes around with a number of outstanding displays at the heart of their frontline.

The former Rangers man would bully defenders at will, and got himself on the scoresheet at some valuable times across the season to preserve City’s top flight status.

But as Hull dropped out the division the next season, their main striker wasn’t hanging around for second tier football; with his move to West Ham costing less than half of what the selling club had paid just 18 months earlier.

Nikica Jelavic career journey: Rangers, Everton, Hull City

Jelavic had made a name for himself across the European scene before his move to Scotland to play for Rangers; with 20 goals in 37 league games for Rapid Vienna in Austria enough to convince the Glasgow side to bring him to the club.

The bullish frontman continued where he had left off once he entered the United Kingdom, with another 30 goals scored in just 45 league matches north of the border; enough to win the Scottish Premiership in his only full season with the club.

After making the move to Everton the goals weren’t as frequent, but the tenacity and doggedness of his attacking play was still just as prominent, with all manner of Premier League defences getting the runaround from the Croatian international.

After securing their return to the top flight, that was exactly what Hull City were missing at the business end of the field, and the Tigers splashed a reported £6.5 million to bring the striker to the club in the January transfer window after mustering just six league wins by New Year’s Day.

The new frontman continued where he left off as soon as he donned a gold and black shirt; with his name not often mentioned on the scoreboard, but his energy and determination alongside the similarly effervescent Shane Long starting to prove dividends on Humberside.

A first goal for the club came against north east rivals Sunderland, before a vital brace against Cardiff City started to help to ease the Tigers’ relegation worries.

His next goal against Fulham pulled a goal back before Long levelled matters in a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage, and just to emphasis the struggles the Tigers were having in front of goal that season, that fourth goal since January put him top of the scoring charts for his new side.

Jelavic’s first - and what proved to be only - full season at the KCOM Stadium saw him once again top the charts with eight goals to his name, with City’s poor record in front of goal evident again as no other player registered more than Dame N’Doye’s five as the Tigers succumbed to relegation.

That’s not to say that the Croatian wasn’t impressing in the final third, with his final goal for the club in the top flight emphasising his ability to find the net; as he connected with a loose headed clearance against Queens Park Rangers to rifle the ball into the back of the net.

With a few helping hands up top Jelavic would have succeeded in keeping his side in the top flight that season, but with Long shipped out and Abel Hernandez only managing four goals, the Tigers ultimately came up short in their battle for survival.

Jelavic leaves Tigers for minimal fee as West Ham United pounce

The striker had proven his quality though, and it was only a matter of time before a top flight side tried their luck in tempting him with a move back to the big time, and West Ham United were the team that won the race for his signature.

A fee of £3 million was a snip of the price that brought him to Humberside, and the Hammers were laughing all the way to the bank when Chinese second division side Beijing Renhe took him off their hands a matter of months later.

The Asian side reportedly paid £4 million for the striker’s services after the Croatian registered just one goal in 13 league games for the East Londoners, as the curtain came down on his time in the British Isles.

It will always be a case of ‘what if’ for Tigers fans and Jelavic, with City returning to the Premier League for just one season since that relegation, but if their main striker had stayed around it could have been a different story.