African winner is buoyed by Hull deals
AFCON winner Jean Michael Seri is confident Hull City’s mid-season recruits can continue his “great 2024”.
Seri helped Ivory Coast lift Africa’s premiere trophy for a third time by beating Nigeria in last month’s final on home soil.
But the 32-year-old midfielder has quickly switched focus to concentrate on the Tigers’ bid for promotion to the Premier League.
The MKM Stadium outfit went into this weekend occupying the Championship’s final play-off spot and unbeaten in six contests, representing the club’s longest sequence since September.
And Seri – a promotion winner with Fulham two years ago - reckons the additions of Fabio Carvalho, Anass Zaroury and Billy Sharp, who also have recent experience of going up from the Championship with the Cottagers, Burnley and Sheffield United respectively, can prove decisive in the coming months.
“The level of the squad is higher now,” the Tigers’ midfield anchorman told The FLP. “That’s not saying the players here on loan before weren’t good enough but, in football, you’re always moving forward and, when you have a chance to get promoted, the gaffer and club have to bring in players to help you achieve that.
“It’s always about what’s best for the club and it was good work by everybody involved to bring them in.”
Seri, himself, even played a role in persuading on-loan, 21-year-old Liverpool attacker Carvalho to swap Anfield for East Yorkshire, having spent the first half of the campaign with Champions League outfit RB Leipzig.
The pair previously lined up together when Carvalho was a teenager and Fulham romped to the Championship title in 2021-22.
Carvalho had netted three times for Hull before this weekend’s visit of leaders Leicester and, on their close relationship, Seri said: “After he signed for Liverpool, we’ve always kept talking. We’re like brothers and it wasn’t difficult to convince him to come here.
“He’s the kind of player who wants to play every game and he will get even better during these final m
