Hull City manager search news: Big Sergej Jakirovic update, Acun Ilicali response, former coach admission | OneFootball

FLW rounds up the latest news concerning Hull City's managerial search

It's been three weeks since Hull City parted company with Ruben Selles, and the club's search for his replacement is still ongoing.

Turkish media mogul and Tigers owner, Acun Ilicali, is looking to confirm the fifth permanent appointment of his tenure at the MKM Stadium, having taken over in January 2022 for £30m with Grant McCann still in the post, enduring mixed fortunes under those who followed the current Doncaster Rovers boss.

Regardless, Hull will be hoping to avoid anything like the previous 12 months, which saw them fall from play-off hopefuls under Liam Rosenior, before confirming their place in the Championship for the upcoming 2025/26 campaign by a point in Selles' final game against Portsmouth, with the Spaniard only lasting six months in charge following the ill-fated reign of Tim Walter.

It is a critical period for the East Yorkshire side, and Football League World has rounded up the latest concerning the club's managerial search.

Hull City given boost in pursuit of Kayserispor boss Sergej Jakirovic

An array of potential replacements were linked in the days which followed Selles' exit on May 16th, with Ilicali eventually revealing that his prime target hadn't been referenced by the mainstream media until last week, when it was revealed that the club were in advanced talks with Kayserispor boss, Sergej Jakirovic.

It was revealed by Mike White of BBC Radio Humberside that the club were set to apply for the Bosnian's work visa ahead of his 'intended' appointment, having ended the Turkish Süper Lig season with his current employers on Sunday, as he steered the club away from relegation danger and into a 13th-place finish.

City's approach for the 48-year-old's services hasn't gone down well with Kayserispor technical director, Nurettin Açıkalın, and he has hit out at the Hull chairman, stating to CNN Turk: "We worked in harmony and carried the team to success. We had plans for the new season. Our coach (Jakirovic) did not say goodbye to us.

"He didn’t say he was leaving. However, the approach of Hull City President Acun Ilıcalı is not nice at all. This club has a president and a sports director. Permission was not received for a meeting," he added.

Following such goings-on, it has been confirmed by Hull Live that the Tigers have taken a major step forward in their pursuit of Jakirovic, as he and two colleagues have been given the go-ahead with the aforementioned work visas. It is expected he will be joined by Marko Salatovic, Marin Ivancic and Andjelo Roguljic, who will work alongside pre-existing staff in the form of former Tigers left-back Andy Dawson and Erbil Bozkurt.

In a report from Hull Live, it is said that the Tigers are set to part with a sizeable fee to buy Jakirovic out of his contract at the Kadir Has Stadium, whilst the former Dinamo Zagreb boss is to demand a hefty salary of his own if a move to HU3 comes to fruition.

Amid the frustration shown by the aforementioned Açıkalın, Ilicali, who also operates as a member of the Fenerbahçe board, issued a response to his counterpart on Turkish television.

"I will meet with Nurettin Açıkalın (Kayserispor president). We did not steal anyone’s coach," he claimed.

"We are not people like that in terms of style. We do certain things in our relationships very well. We will also meet with our dear president. If a coach wants this, just as we allowed Ferdi (to move from Fenerbahçe to Brighton), the same situation applies," Ilicali added.

Whilst key discussions continue in the background regarding the sourcing of Selles' expected replacement, his assistant, James Oliver-Pearce has spoken about his time at the MKM, as well as his previous stint alongside the Valencia native at Reading.

The 33-year-old issued no ill-feelings towards the Championship club on his part despite the somewhat shock decision to part ways, although he stated that may or may not be the case from Selles' perspective.

"It’s football. When you work in this industry, they are the potential pitfalls," he told the Reading Chronicle.

"I can’t speak for Ruben or Toby (Loveland), but for myself, I am grateful for the experience there. There are always different obstacles and challenges at football clubs. We would like to have been more convincing in how we did it, but ultimately, we kept the team in the division which is a positive."

After leaving the club, Selles was linked with a potential move to Huddersfield Town prior to the Terriers' appointment of Lee Grant last week, whilst he also sounded himself out of the running for the Cardiff City vacancy. The South Wales side's own managerial hunt has lasted since the Easter weekend, having parted company with Omer Riza days before their relegation to League One was confirmed.