£15 Million-Rated Hull City Ace Wanted By Premier League Side
The 23-year-old is an excellent ball-progressing defender and has been a key figure for the Tigers this season as a play-off place still remains up for grabs. In an impressive campaign, Greaves has made a total of 2,810 successful passes, landing himself in the 94th percentile of centre-backs in the Championship.
With West Ham looking to bolster their defensive options as they remain desperate to challenge for Europe once again, the Hull City number four would easily fit their transfer profile. Greaves’ current contract expires in 2026 which means the Tigers can afford to demand a reasonably high figure for the Englishman. If Liam Rosenior’s side somehow manage to go up this year through the play-offs, the fee could potentially rise even further.
Furthermore, the recent pressure of FFP and other regulation breaches around the top-flight means that the Hammers will be looking to meet the requirements of home-grown, English players. 14 of their 22 first team players are non-English and with Kalvin Phillips’s loan deal expiring alongside other contracts this summer, the signing of Greaves makes perfect sense.
he Tigers’ defender has had his fair share of captaincy experience recently too, wearing the armband on four consecutive occasions in April. The 23-year-old has also played 176 times since his first professional appearance in 2020, for the Yorkshire club he grew up with. Greaves has appeared 42 times in the Championship this season, meaning he is likely one of the first names on Rosenior’s team sheet.
According to Football Insider, the London club have reportedly already set the cogs in motion with early negotiations likely opening up in the coming weeks. The ball park is set to be around £15 million and there is reported optimism around getting the deal done, should Hull City remain in the second division next year.
Writer’s View
Jacob Greaves has been immense in the past two seasons at Hull, creating a formidable partnership with Alfie Jones has lead to a real defensive dominance under Rosenior. The 23-year-old is rightly earning his plaudits now and it comes as a slight shock that no other Premier League or European club has entered preliminary talks for the young defender.
West Ham could have a real bargain on their hands with the way the market is moving. The only dampener on the situation is the plethora of centre-backs that the Hammers already have among their ranks: Konstantinos Mavropanos, Nayef Aguerd, Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer, returning from AS Monaco, will all be fighting for two or three spots. If a move were to happen, Greaves could take a while to settle in and establish himself, but could be a solid long-term option to take a chance
