Although Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has cautioned supporters that the negotiations are not yet finished, he is still optimistic that Tim Walter will join the Tigers as head coach within the course of the upcoming week.
Since Liam Rosenior’s dismissal, Ilicali and the German have been in intense negotiations. They have met in person in Munich and Monaco as well as via Zoom, and Ilicali is eager to bring in the attack-oriented former head coach of Stuttgart and Hamburg.
Despite having been burned previously, Ilicali has attempted to allay expectations before the ink on the contract is dry, even though a deal for Walter to take over at the MKM Stadium is almost complete.
The Turkish entrepreneur believed he had an agreement for Pedro Martins to succeed Shota Arveladze in October 2022, before Rosenior was named a month later. After visiting the training field earlier in the day, the Portuguese had verbally agreed to terms and was even present at the MKM Stadium to watch City, led by interim manager Andy Dawson, defeat Wigan Athletic 2-1.
The former Olympiacos head coach, despite having reached an agreement with Martins and his representative, left for Portugal intending to gather some personal belongings before returning to be unveiled and begin training at the team’s Cottingham training facility. However, he turned around and moved to Al Gharafa in Qatar. Having gone through that ordeal, Ilicali says he will not take anything for granted.
“One of the things I experienced as an owner – the Portuguese guy, Pedro Martins, we shook hands then somebody confused his mind and he went to Arabia,” the City manager stated during a fans Q&A session. “I believe the motivation at the time was money. We weren’t on the same page from the start, so I was relieved he didn’t approach us instead of going to Arabia for money and failing to challenge for the Premier League at that point in his career.
“I myself will not be let down in the slightest. It’s a good indicator that our perspectives are divergent. I have respect for him; Martins is free to go work there without any issues. We need a boxer at our club, and Walter is most likely coming.”
After evaluating the team, Ilicali is still “95%” certain Walter will accept to take over as City’s next head coach in the coming days, but he is wary of going overboard.
“If everything goes good there is a chance – next week is our target, I hope that we will finish,” he said. “Don’t assume that everything is finished; if everything goes as planned, we will finish. We discussed our objectives with him after he shown interest in joining several other clubs, and he was quite happy with our progress.
“After looking over our squad, he informed us that we had some really talented players. He is quite positive when he says that the permanent loans are excellent, even if he is aware of which ones would fail. Regarding the new hire, his thoughts on football dictate that the hiring process will be carried out exclusively with his consent.”
Ilicali, who had a falling out with Rosenior over the transfer activity this season, says the club’s transfer panel will lead recruitment, but the manager will have a major influence in whether a target is pursued.
“I want to mention something; I will never let any coach make recruitment because I have the full experience of the coaches’ recruitment are always problematic,” he said. “After you locate the player, the coach will say, “Yes, I want him,” and you will be able to acquire him.
“The coaches don’t have time to compare some players who are out of this world because they are too concentrated on their squad. Ten members of our recruitment team traverse the globe, spending five times observing players in person in Europe and Africa. How is your coach able to observe him? Our hiring staff will make a decision, we’ll ask the coach if they like him, and if they do, we’ll close the transaction.”
Be the first to comment