The 2017–18 season was Hull City's first season back in the Championship following their relegation the last season in their 114th year in existence. Along with the Championship, the club competed in the FA Cup and EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.
Events On 9 June 2017, the club announced the appointment of Leonid Slutsky as head coach. On 30 June 2017, Liam Edwards signed a one-year deal, on a free transfer from Swansea City. On 3 July 2017, Jonathan Edwards signed a new one-year deal with the club and was loaned to Accrington Stanley for the season. On 5 July 2017, Josh Tymon was released after failing to agree a new contract with the club. On 11 July 2017 Ola Aina of Chelsea signed a season-long loan with the club. On 15 July 2017, Tom Huddlestone joined Derby County for an undisclosed fee, on a two-year contract. On 18 July 2017, free agent Fraizer Campbell signed a two-year deal with the club. On 19 July 2017, Eldin Jakupović signed a three-year deal with Leicester City for an undisclosed fee. On 19 July 2017, Ahmed Elmohamady joined Aston Villa on a three-year contract for a fee of £1 million. On 21 July 2017, Andrew Robertson moved to Liverpool for an initial fee of £8 million, in a reverse move Kevin Stewart signed a three-year deal with Hull City for an undisclosed fee. On 26 July 2017, Ondřej Mazuch of Sparta Prague signed a two-year contract with the club after impressing in pre-season trials with the club. Also Callum Burton arrived from Shrewsbury Town signing a one-year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 27 July 2017, Michael Hector joined on a season-long loan from Chelsea. On 9 August 2017, signed Sebastian Larsson on a one-year contract following his release from Sunderland at the end of the 2016–17 season. On 23 August 2017, Sam Clucas signed a 4-year deal with Swansea City for an undisclosed fee, in a reverse move Stephen Kingsley signed a 3-year deal, with an optional extra year for an undisclosed fee. On 24 August 2017, Jon Toral signed a three-year deal with the club. On 29 August 2017, Nouha Dicko, of Wolverhampton Wanderers, signed a 3-year deal, with an optional extra year for an undisclosed fee. On 30 August 2017, Jackson Irvine, of Burton Albion, signed a 3-year deal, with an optional extra year for an undisclosed fee. On transfer dead-line day, 31 August 2017, Fikayo Tomori signed a season-long loan deal from Chelsea. In September 2017, Jarrod Bowen signed a new contract with the club that sees him stay at the club until 2020. On 12 October 2017, Oleg Yarovinsky was appointed Head of Club Strategy. On 27 October 2017, Daniel Batty went on a month-long loan to FC Halifax Town. On 3 November 2017, Callum Burton went on a month-long loan to Salford City. On 8 November 2017, Josh Clackstone went on a month-long loan to FC Halifax Town. On 24 November 2017, Adam Curry went on a month-long loan to Boston United. On 28 November 2017, Will Mannion went on an emergency week-long loan to Plymouth Argyle. On 3 December 2017, Leonid Slutsky and Oleg Yarovinsky left the club by mutual consent after a run of bad results. On 7 December 2017, Nigel Adkins was appointed as head coach on an 18-month contract, Andy Crosby was appointed as his assistant. On 5 January 2018, Jonathan Edwards was recalled from his season-long loan to Accrington Stanley and was immediately loaned out for the remainder of the season to Woking. On 22 January 2018, goalkeeping coach Pat Mountain left the club for family reasons, taking up a similar position at Forest Green Rovers. On 26 January 2018, Barry Richardson was appointed goalkeeping coach. On 31 January 2018, Angus MacDonald signed from Barnsley on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. On 31 January 2018, Harry Wilson joined on loan from Liverpool for the remainder of the season. On 13 February 2018, it was announced that Ryan Mason would retire from playing, on medical grounds, with immediate effect. Mason had suffered a fractured skull that required surgery after a clash of heads with defender Gary Cahill on 22 January 2017, in a Premier League match against Chelsea. On 28 February 2018, Brandon Fleming moved to Gainsborough Trinity on a month-long loan. On 28 February 2018, Tyler Hamilton and Robbie McKenzie signed two-year contracts with the club. On 2 March 2018, academy player Billy Chadwick signed a professional contract with the club for one-year. On 16 March 2018, Ben Hinchliffe went on loan to Gainsborough Trinity until the end of April 2018. On 19 March 2018, Greg Luer joined Maidstone United on loan until the end of the season. On 18 April 2018, Brian Lenihan announced his retirement from football, and was released from his contract with the club. On 2 May 2018, Adama Diomande's contract was cancelled so he could join Los Angeles. On 16 May 2018, Allan McGregor chose not to sign a contract extension with the club, instead signing a two-year deal with Rangers. On 18 May 2018, Adam Curry and Lewis Ritson signed one-year deals with the club. On 18 May 2018, Josh Clackstone, Greg Luer, David Meyler and Greg Olley were released by the club, while Max Clark, Abel Hernández, Sebastian Larsson and Moses Odubajo were offered new deals. On 30 May 2018, Michael Dawson left for Nottingham Forest on a free transfer. On 4 June 2018, Abel Hernández left the club by mutual consent. On 11 June 2018, Sebastian Larsson rejected a new contract offer deciding to return to Sweden to play for AIK. On 22 June 2018, defender Eric Lichaj signed a two-year deal with Hull City for an undisclosed fee. On 22 June 2018, Max Clark was reported as joining Vitesse Arnhem at the end of his contract.
First team squad
Transfers Transfers in Date from Position Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 1 July 2017 LW Liam Edwards Swansea City Free 18 July 2017 CF Fraizer Campbell Crystal Palace Free 21 July 2017 CM Kevin Stewart Liverpool Undisclosed 26 July 2017 CB Ondřej Mazuch Sparta Prague Undisclosed 26 July 2017 GK Callum Burton Shrewsbury Town Undisclosed 9 August 2017 CM Sebastian Larsson Sunderland Free 9 August 2017 LB Stephen Kingsley Swansea City Undisclosed 24 August 2017 AM Jon Toral Arsenal Undisclosed 29 August 2017CFNouha DickoWolverhampton WanderersUndisclosed30 August 2017 MF Jackson Irvine Burton Albion Undisclosed 31 January 2018 CB Angus MacDonald Barnsley Undisclosed 22 June 2018 RB Eric Lichaj Nottingham Forest Undisclosed
Transfers out Date from Position Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 1 July 2017 CB Alex Bruce Free agent Released 1 July 2017 CB Curtis Davies Derby County Undisclosed 1 July 2017 ST Luke Lofts Free agent Released 1 July 2017 CB Harry Maguire Leicester City Undisclosed 1 July 2017 CB Bradley Maslen-Jones Free agent Released 1 July 2017 RB Harvey Rodgers Fleetwood Town Free 1 July 2017 ST Johan Ter Horst Maidstone United Released 5 July 2017 LB Josh Tymon Stoke City Rejected contract 15 July 2017 DM Tom Huddlestone Derby County Undisclosed 19 July 2017 GK Eldin Jakupović Leicester City Undisclosed 19 July 2017 RW Ahmed Elmohamady Aston Villa £1,000,000 21 July 2017 LB Andrew Robertson Liverpool Undisclosed 23 August 2017 CM Sam Clucas Swansea City Undisclosed 13 February 2018 CM Ryan Mason Retired n/a 2 May 2018 FW Adama Diomande Los Angeles Free 16 May 2018 GK Allan McGregor Rangers Free 18 May 2018 DF Josh Clackstone Released 18 May 2018 FW Greg Luer Released 18 May 2018 MF David Meyler Released 18 May 2018 MF Greg Olley Released 30 May 2018 CB Michael Dawson Nottingham Forest Free transfer 4 June 2018 CF Abel Hernández Free agent Mutual consent 11 June 2018 MF Sebastian Larsson AIK Free transfer 22 June 2018 LB Max Clark Vitesse Arnhem Compensation
Loans in Start date Position Nationality Name From End date Ref. 11 July 2017 RB Ola Aina Chelsea 30 June 2018 27 July 2017 CB Michael Hector Chelsea 30 June 2018 31 August 2017 DF Fikayo Tomori Chelsea 30 June 2018 31 January 2018 MF Harry Wilson Liverpool 30 June 2018
Loans out Start date Position Nationality Name To End date Ref. 3 July 2017 CF Jonathan Edwards Accrington Stanley 5 January 2018 27 October 2017 CM Daniel Batty FC Halifax Town 26 November 2017 3 November 2017 GK Callum Burton Salford City 3 December 2017 8 November 2017 DF Josh Clackstone FC Halifax Town 8 December 2017 24 November 2017 DF Adam Curry Boston United 24 December 2017 28 November 2017 GK Will Mannion Plymouth Argyle 4 December 2017 5 January 2018 CF Jonathan Edwards Woking 30 June 2018 28 February 2018 MF Brandon Fleming Gainsborough Trinity 28 March 2018 16 March 2018 FW Ben Hinchliffe Gainsborough Trinity 30 April 2018 19 March 2018 FW Greg Luer Maidstone United 30 June 2018
Pre-season On 6 July 2017 Hull City announced five pre-season friendlies against Oxford United, Bristol Rovers, both in Portugal, Nantes, Benfica and Ajax.
The players returned to pre-season training on 3 July 2017. On 11 July 2017 the team travelled to Portugal for a 12-day training camp.
Competitions Overall
Championship
League table
Result summary
Results by matchday
Matches The fixtures for the season were announced on 21 June 2017. Hull start the season with a trip to Aston Villa, run by former manager Steve Bruce, on 5 August 2017. The season will close on 6 May 2018 with an away match at Brentford.
EFL Cup
Hull City enter the competition in the second-round. The draw for the second-round took place on 10 August 2017, and Hull were drawn away to Doncaster Rovers. The match was played on 22 August 2017 at the Keepmoat Stadium and Hull fielded a mainly Academy side for the match. The first half produced no goals and it was Alfie May who broke the deadlock just after the restart for Doncaster. Tommy Rowe doubled Doncaster's lead 6-minutes later with Hull failing to make any reply. Hull City were knocked out at the Second round stage losing 2–0 on the night.
FA Cup
Hull City entered the competition in the third-round, the draw for which took place on 4 December 2017. Hull were drawn away to either Blackburn Rovers or Crewe Alexandra, who drew their second-round match 3–3. The replay was scheduled for 12 December 2017 but was put back 24-hours because of adverse weather conditions. Blackburn Rovers beat Crewe Alexandra by a single goal, by former City player Danny Graham, to progress to play Hull City.
The match against Blackburn Rovers, took place on 6 January 2018 at Ewood Park, in what the BBC described as an "uneventful" match. The only goal coming in the 58th minute when Ola Aina headed in a Jon Toral corner to take Hull through to the next round.
The draw for the fourth-round took place on 8 January 2018, and Hull were drawn at home to fellow Championship side Nottingham Forest, with the match taking place on 27 January 2018. Jarrod Bowen hit the post for Hull after 17-minutes, but was on the scoreboard a minute later when his shot hit the top corner of the goal. Nouha Dicko double the score when he headed in from close range after 40-minutes. With a couple of minutes of normal-time remaining Apostolos Vellios pegged one back for Forest, but they could not find another goal. Hull progressed to the Fifth round with a 2–1 victory.