Hull City should look to hijack £6m Birmingham City, Fulham deal: View​ | OneFootball

The Tigers had previously been linked with a move for the Fulham forward

It would be a fair comment to say that throughout the English footballing pyramid, there are a number of players playing in divisions that are well-below said player's current ability.

Of course, a number of factors will undoubtedly sway the thought-process, such as wage packets and ambition, something which hasn't seemingly been an issue at Hull City in the past couple of seasons with the well-documented and high-profile additions that have been made to squads under the previous management of Shota Arveladze and Liam Rosenior in Acun Ilicali's two-and-a-half year reign as the latest custodian of the East Yorkshire side.

Many additions in the coming weeks of the transfer window have been promised amid a barrage of frustration from supporters with regard to how Tim Walter's first competitive XI to take on Bristol City on August 10th will shape up.

The 48-year-old has pinpointed many areas across what is currently a squad low on numbers and the sufficient quality needed to better Rosenior's efforts of a seventh-place finish last season, and the striking department is one of those.

And, after missing out on two reported targets to QPR and Sheffield United in the form of Zan Celar and Kieffer Moore, the last thing City fans will want is to see a League One side pursue a permanent deal for a star performer who was recently linked with a move to the MKM Stadium.

Hull City should look to hijack Birmingham City, Fulham deal for summer target

Given how lightweight striking options currently are, it's no surprise that earlier on in the window, City expressed their desire to strike a deal with Fulham for Jay Stansfield.

Stansfield was the shining light and main source of goals in Birmingham City's relegation season last term, and on the surface, a return to the Championship seemed more likely than the 21-year-old returning to the West Midlands, regardless of Blues' ambitions under Tom Wagner.

However, those prospects have potentially been dealt a surprise and crushing blow in equal measure, with Football Insider reporting that Chris Davies' men are preparing a £6m bid to sign the England youth international on a permanent basis after netting 13 times in 47 occasions across all competitions for the club, which included a strike against the Tigers in an FA Cup replay.

Darren Witcoop also relayed such reports by stating that Fulham had snubbed Championship loan interest as the Second City outfit look to strike an agreement, whilst journalist Alfonso Leocadio has also mentioned that both Hull and Leeds United are long-term admirers of the former Exeter man.

Ilicali has previously placed on record that City cannot break the bank in terms of spending for the upcoming campaign, but after the sales of Jaden Philogene and Jacob Greaves for an upfront cost of approximately £28m combined, many supporters will be clamouring to see some of the cash influx reinvested into the playing squad.

And, when all things are considered, £6m for a Championship club to pay is a lot more realistic than a League One outfit, regardless of Birmingham's hefty spending spree this summer.

Therefore,the hierarchy in Yorkshire should be monitoring developments between them and the Cottagers in a potential bid to hijack the deal, regardless of Stansfield's pre-established connections with those in Royal Blue.

And, whilst money talks and the forward would no doubt demand, and ultimately, deserve a far greater wage packet than the estimated figure of £2,000 per week paid by Blues throughout his loan spell, if Hull were said to be offering fellow target - Jesurun Rak-Sakyi - the highest wage package amid interest from Southampton, then the same stance should be taken in this situation.

Jay Stansfield would offer Tim Walter a different dimension

One man who Walter has brought back into the fold this pre-season is Colombian forward Oscar Estupinan, after likening the 27-year-old to his former Hamburg SV and ex-Cardiff City striker, Robert Glatzel.

However, the acquisition of Stansfield would give Walter a different dimension to his attacking play, as well as guaranteed goals at this level.

Whilst all of his 12 second tier goals came inside the box, the 21-year-old showed maturity in his forward play of someone way beyond his years, with the ability to stretch defences, show great explosiveness to get in behind, as well as creating an array of chances for his teammates, despite them failing to reach the back of the net at times through Blues' overall lack of cutting edge as the season progressed.

And ultimately, all of this came in a side battling relegation for a large proportion of the campaign, and despite earning a clean sweep of awards, was unable to keep the side up, so it begs the question of how a forward with such talent could aid Hull's chances of a play-off bid as a bare minimum, with the answer most likely, to great affect.