Hull City and Acun Ilicali must push to appoint ex-Aston Villa manager - It's a no brainer | OneFootball

Dean Smith would be an ambitious but ideal candidate for the Tigers

Following the confirmation of Ruben Selles' exit from the MKM Stadium, speculation has already begun regarding his successor in the Hull City hotseat.

Owner, Acun Ilicali, and the hierarchy in East Yorkshire felt that a change was the order of the day in order to match their well-documented ambitions of returning to the Premier League in the not-too-distant future, although the eventual decision has split opinions among supporters.

Despite a run of two victories in nine which coincided with just two goals from open play reportedly what made Selles' position as head coach untenable, the former Reading boss did have the Tigers performing as a mid-table side with 34 points from 27 games, inheriting a squad bottom of the Championship before eventually seeing the club to safety on the final day.

With an extremely mixed track record when it comes to managerial appointments throughout his three-and-a-half year spell in the boardroom, pressure is now firmly on Ilicali to deliver, with previous mishaps in the form of Shota Arveladze and Tim Walter firmly on the minds of many, especially as the latter replaced Liam Rosenior, who has worked wonders with RC Strasbourg in Ligue 1.

A list of potential candidates has been drawn up as such already, and with those in HU3 hoping to see someone with a proven record at second-tier level as well as delivering long-term stability and relative success, one man among the list is a no-brainer on this front in the form of Dean Smith.

Smith honed his craft in management initially at Walsall, with the Saddlers often a stable club in League One during a four-and-a-half-year period, before overseeing the club's maiden Wembley visit in March 2015 in the EFL Trophy final against Bristol City and an extremely strong start to the following campaign, as the Black Country outfit were fourth in the third-tier before his departure to Brentford.

Under the former centre-back, the Bees were an extremely progressive side with a knack for playing high-tempo, possession-based football that finished in the top-half during all of his full seasons in charge.

On top of their entertainment on the pitch, Brentford also began to gain success from the 'moneyball' transfer strategy, which saw the likes of Rico Henry, Sergi Canos, Said Benrahma, Ollie Watkins, Neal Maupay make a name for themselves, as well as the creative spark provided by Jota prior to his high-profile transfer to Birmingham City.

Smith would then be lured to his boyhood club, Aston Villa in October 2018, inheriting a top-heavy yet star-studded squad by second-tier standards that endured a mixed bag of results under former Tigers boss, Steve Bruce.

The B6 outfit won half of his first 12 games in charge, scoring 26 goals in the process, although the loss of Jack Grealish for three months sparked a subsequent run of one win in 10 games, with a 3-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic in January 2019 being described as "the bottom of my (Smith's) career in management."

However, backed in the market with key loan additions such as Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause, the decision to give Jed Steer the 'number one' role ahead of Lovre Kalinic and the returning Grealish saw his side become history-makers, winning 10 games in a row before eventually edging past West Bromwich Albion and Derby County in the play-offs.

Despite a largely frustrating first season back in the Premier League amid a high amount of player turnover, Smith would eventually mastermind a 'Great Escape', taking eight points from the final four games to survive ahead of Bournemouth and Watford.

The remainder of his eventual three-year tenure saw Villa emerge into steady top-flight operators, as well as recruiting a plethora of current B6 stalwarts such as Emi Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa and the club's all-time leading scorer in the modern era, Watkins.

A run of four consecutive defeats without reply would prove his undoing in the Second City as he was dismissed in November 2021, although you'd be extremely hard-pressed to see anyone of a Claret and Blue persuasion have a negative perception of the 54-year-old, having laid the foundations for their current success under Unai Emery.

Hull City swoop for Dean Smith may be ambitious amid Charlotte FC developments

After a somewhat underwhelming stint in charge of Norwich City between December 2021 and 2022, the West Bromwich-born man is now overseeing matters with MLS side, Charlotte FC.

He was handed a "multi-year" contract in North Carolina a year-and-a-half ago, with 'The Crown' ending the 2024 season inside the post-season Eastern Conference play-off places, losing to Orlando City on penalties in the first round.

It has been a mixed start to Smith's second season at the Bank of America Stadium, with notable faces among his squad including Wilfried Zaha, Tim Ream, Nathan Byrne and Ashley Westwood.

Whilst his previous record in the EFL and steady progress Stateside makes him an ideal candidate to take over in East Yorkshire, it would also be somewhat ambitious for Ilicali to prize Smith away, as he penned a two-year contract extension in March, stating: "Everyone at the Club is aligned in our vision to be a leader in Major League Soccer.

"To our supporters, you have made our family feel welcome in this city and for that we’re grateful to each one of you. We will work together with the aim of consistently challenging for major trophies every season.”