Despite being subject to a transfer embargo for the whole season, Hull City remains well-positioned for a top-six finish this season under Bosnian manager Sergej Jakirovic, despite the odds.

From the Allams to Turkish industrialist Acun Ilicali, the Tigers have rarely had a quiet season, and this year is no exception.

The club was placed under a transfer embargo at the start of the season, which meant they couldn’t pay a fee for a player for the following 18 months. However, that sentence has since been lowered to 12 months, allowing them to spend again as early as this summer.

This was due to the club’s late payments to Aston Villa for forward Louie Barry, despite the club making significant profits in recent seasons, notably through the sales of Jaden Philogene to Villa and Jacob Greaves to Ipswich Town.

Greaves’ sale was devastating at the time, but despite losing the left-footed defender and being placed under embargo, Hull will be laughing now.

Hull City traded Jacob Greaves to Ipswich Town for £15 million and replaced him sensationally.

Fresh off finishing just outside the play-offs under current Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior in a bittersweet campaign that saw significant improvement but ultimately fell short, newly promoted Ipswich Town sealed a £15 million signing for defender Jacob Greaves in the summer.

At the time, it was viewed as a significant loss for the Tigers, as the 23-year-old had already made over 175 appearances for his boyhood club across all competitions, including 43 in the Championship in his final season at MKM Stadium.

However, even the most optimistic Hull fans could not have foreseen how good his replacement would be, and some may argue that they have really upgraded.

Hull bought Wigan Athletic centre-back Charlie Hughes for £3.5 million during the same transfer window that Greaves was sold to Ipswich.

Hughes, who was still only 20 years old at the time of his arrival, had just had a breakout season with the Latics, making 43 League One appearances and earning call-ups to England’s Under-21 squad.

It was believed that Greaves would prosper in the Premier League with Ipswich, while Hughes would struggle to adjust to the second tier, and while this is not far from the truth, Hull’s choice to sell Greaves and bring in Hughes now appears to be an incredible deal.

Charlie Hughes may be sold for much more than Jacob Greaves.

Greaves made 25 Premier League games last season as the Tractor Boys were quickly demoted to the second division, and it was anticipated that he would keep his spot at the heart of the defence as they returned to the Championship.

However, with Dara O’Shea securing one centre-back berth and Cedric Kipre stepping in and offering strong competition, Greaves’ minutes have been reduced this season.

Greaves is capable of deputising at left-back, but with Leif Davis as competition, he has no clear path back into the team, and his minutes are unlikely to improve if Ipswich return to the top flight this season.

Meanwhile, Hughes has emerged as one of the league’s standout defenders this season after adjusting to life at the MKM Stadium, where he made 27 league games in his first year with the Tigers.

Coventry City had two bids for Hughes rejected in the summer, while Premier League club Crystal Palace reportedly targeted the 22-year-old as a potential replacement for Marc Guehi, who joined Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Under contract until the summer of 2028, with the option to extend for another year if desired, Hull are in control of negotiating a fee for the defender, though they will most likely prefer to keep him for at least one more season, regardless of whether they are promoted this year.

With Greaves falling out of favour at Ipswich and Hughes thriving at Hull, the Tigers will be laughing at this summer transfer deal as it stands.