Gossip: Alzate set for Selles reunion?published at 10:32 BST 24 June 2025
10:32 BST 24 June 2025
Hull City and Columbia midfielder Steven Alzate, 26, could be set for an exit from the Tigers this summer amid interest from La Liga side Valencia and Sheffield United. (Hull Live, external)
Gossip: O'Brien among Hull's top transfer targetspublished at 11:57 BST 19 June 2025
11:57 BST 19 June 2025
Out-of-favour Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis O'Brien, who has had recent loan spells with Swansea, Los Angeles FC and Middlesbrough, is one of Hull City's top transfer targets this summer. (Hull Daily Mail), external
Hull, Birmingham City and Norwich are among the clubs chasing Arminia Bielefeld defender Louis Oppie, but the 23-year-old German is also attracting strong interest from Bundesliga rivals Union Berlin who have already submitted a bid. (Football Insider), external
Could Phillips challenge Pandur?published at 11:34 BST 17 June 2025
11:34 BST 17 June 2025
Media caption,
Dillon Phillips: Who is Hull City's new signing?
Will new Hull City signing Dillon Phillips challenge the position of current number one keeper Ivor Pandur?
Phillips joined on Monday from Rotherham United, where he rotated in and out of the starting XI last season, making 33 League One appearances.
Paul Davis from the Rotherham Advertiser has been speaking to BBC Radio Humberside about why Phillips probably won't be the first name on the teamsheet when he arrives at the Tigers.
"Dillon in one-off games could be very good, a very good shot stopper at times. Sometimes he let things through and you thought 'oh, he might have saved that'.
"He kind of got found out a little bit. He could play well for five or six games and something would go wrong and that's why he never played in the team permanently.
"In the Championship, I think he'd be a very good back-up but I'd be very surprised if Hull bring him in as their first choice."
Gossip: Hull close to Ajayi deal and want McBurniepublished at 12:23 BST 16 June 2025
12:23 BST 16 June 2025
Hull City want to sign ex-Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie, 29, from Las Palmas after the Spanish side's relegation from La Liga but may face competition from his former club if Chris Wilder remains as Blades manager. (Hull Daily Mail), external
Laalaoui joins from Moroccan side Fath Union Sport in his first move outside of his home country.
African football journalist Mark Gleeson has been speaking to BBC Radio Humberside about how he believes Laalaoui is a "bright little prospect" but might take time to show his true ability as he eases into life in England.
"The Championship is physically such a big deal, it's a big man's world. I think it's going to be a slow process," Gleeson said.
"I'm not sure he's going to make an impact initially, it might be a bit of a punt on a long-term talent rather than someone who is going to make immediate waves.
"I think the Championship is not the forum for silky African skills, I think it takes a while. My gut feeling is don't expect immediate fireworks."
Rob: Yet another bizarre appointment by the chairman. No experience of English football and in particular the Championship, which is such a difficult league. I hope I'm wrong but this just smacks of the previous two appointments whereby the chairman had to sack them and bring someone else in. I'm not holding my breath though.
James: I don't get it! Firstly the decision to part with Rosenior after a seventh-placed finish, then to jettison Selles after keeping them up! What does the owner want? Why not go for someone with a proven track record in the Championship?
Joe: As Hull fan that's watched us every week, week in week out, we need to actually concentrate on the squad and the quality we bring in. We need players who want to play for the club and give it their all, and realise we are a Championship team and the style of football has to be to win as many games as possible and realise we aren't gonna hammer people 5-0 every week - we have to win the close games. Hopefully he will be given the tools he needs to build a strong squad.
John: I cannot believe we are doing this again. It's the exact same as last season. Sack a promising, well-respected coach with good results in the English game for a complete nobody with no experience in English football. We were lucky to attract Selles last season and just about stay up. Who are we going to find at Christmas after this new guy is gone and we're bottom of the table again?
Mark: He is on his eighth managerial job in eight years, and out of the previous seven only two lasted more than one season, not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Nick: We should have got a reliable manager who knows the league. The owner has unrealistic expectations as has proven over and again. Good luck to the new manager, he will need it.
Jonathan: He doesn't know the league and he has a poor team to manage. Unless he can make lots of changes it will be a difficult season. And we don't know him at all so he won't be given long before we get frustrated.
Sam: At the moment, most City fans see Ilicali as being foolish for two bad appointments (Arveladze and Walters) and two awful sacking decisions (Rosenior and Selles). But that can all still be forgotten about if this unknown guy is a success. I'm pretty dubious but will give him a chance.
Rob: Yet again, another manager without Championship experience. Now it's time for another episode of 'dart in a map' recruitment which tends to be the policy of choice for the owner. Get it wrong again and we will be in trouble in the league and financially.
Jakirovic in at Tigers - let us know your thoughtspublished at 10:58 BST 11 June 2025
10:58 BST 11 June 2025
Tigers fans, what do you make of the news that Sergej Jakirovic has been named the new head coach at the MKM Stadium?
The 48-year-old Bosnian joins the Tigers after a short spell in charge of Turkish Super Lig outfit Kayserispor.
The former Dinamo Zagreb coach is the third appointment since Liam Rosenior was sacked in May 2024 after guiding the East Yorkshire side to a seventh-placed finish in the Championship.
Do you think Jakirovic will last longer than Tim Walter or Ruben Selles? Can he haul the Tigers back into contention for promotion? What needs to be his first priority in his new role, in your opinion?
Lions up, Watford down? The 2025 Championship tablepublished at 12:37 BST 10 June 2025
12:37 BST 10 June 2025
Ben Ashton BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty Images
Watford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.
Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.
Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.
Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.
Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.
Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.
The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...
Image source, Rex Features
Portsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.
Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.
The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.
Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.
Image source, Rex Features
Plymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.
Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.
Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.
Image source, Rex Features
Watford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.
The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.
Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.
Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.
Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.
It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.
The Championship's improvement table for 2024-25published at 13:46 BST 5 June 2025
13:46 BST 5 June 2025
Ben Ashton BBC Sport England
Image source, Getty Images
The 2024-25 Championship season might be over but there are many ways to analyse and reflect on the campaign that has gone before us.
Not every club can go up but if there are signs a team is moving in the right direction, it can still be considered good progress - or quite the opposite if things are on the slide.
Here is a look at how each of the 18 sides who were in the Championship for the past two seasons got on points wise compared to the 2023-24 campaign.
It perhaps comes as no surprise that Sunderland, who won promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, recorded the most significant improvement after finishing 16th in 2023-24 and picked up 20 more points.
Despite a tumultuous season off the field, Blackburn were the second most improved side in the division, gaining 13 points on the previous campaign as they missed out on the play-offs by just two points.
Leeds racked up 90 points in 2023-24 but somehow still managed a 10-point improvement as they hit the 100 mark on their way to winning the title in their best-ever season in the second tier.
Millwall's seven-point improvement was enough to help them finish five places higher in eighth, but they fell short of the top six by two points.
Meanwhile, Bristol City were only six points better off but managed to climb five places and claim a play-off spot, recording their best Championship finishing position since 2007-08.
Coventry also only improved by five points but were able to jump from ninth to fifth, perhaps showing just how fine the margins can be in the Championship when it comes to securing a play-off berth.
At the bottom...
Image source, Getty Images
You might want to look away now, Hull City fans.
The Tigers went backwards more than any other side compared to the previous season under Liam Rosenior, dropping from seventh place and three points outside the play-offs to only escaping relegation on goal difference on the final day.
Cardiff went from mid-table in 2023-24 to rock bottom and will drop down to League One for the first time in 22 years. It is pretty clear to see why as the Bluebirds picked up 18 fewer points compared to the previous season.
Norwich tumbled to 13th place after finishing in the play-offs a year before - an underperformance which ultimately cost Johannes Hoff Thorup his job as head coach.
Preston were 10 points off the play-off places in 2023-24 but picked up 13 fewer points under Paul Heckingbottom in what was their worst season since they were relegated from the Championship in 2010-11.
The Lilywhites' downturn was largely due to a major dip in form in the latter stages of the campaign, picking up only one win from their final 15 games (D7 L7) to avoid the drop by just one point.
West Bromwich Albion endured a disappointing season - for a club which always harbours ambitions of plying its trade in the top flight - with an 11-point drop off.
Albion's final points tally of 64 was their worst in the Championship since 1999-2000.
Plymouth may have only been five points worse off than they were in 2023-24 but having survived on the final day that season, there were to be no such heroics this time around and their two-year stint in the second tier is over.
And the rest...
Image source, Getty Images
*All data based only on teams who were in the Championship in 2023-24 and 2024-25
The 48-year-old has managed in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and most recently, Turkey, but if he does join the Tigers, it will be his first managerial experience of English football.
Croatian journalist Ivan Renic has been speaking to BBC Radio Humberside about what Jakirovic might be able to bring to the team.
"You can expect attacking football," Renic said.
"He's not used to defending. Everywhere except the last Turkey job, he was attacking the title, fighting for the title, for the cups, for everything.
"He usually plays a 4-2-3-1 attacking formation with one central striker, which he's going to find probably in the transfer window."
As for what his best attribute is, Renic believes it's the connection between the boss and his squad.
"He has a good relationship with players, that's what is special about him," he said.
"He really connects with the players on a special level and that's what his biggest talent is. He can lift the player up, especially the striker who needs the confidence to score goals."
