Long wait almost over for Hull

Assuming that there are no last minute complications in the completion of his €7.4 million move from West Brom, Shane Long is all set to begin a new chapter is his career at Hull City — though a minor ankle knock could rule him out of a debut appearance for the Tigers against Norwich tomorrow.

Though the Ireland international had indicated he was content to stay at The Hawthorns, West Brom have maintained that the player turned down a brace of new contract offers from the club, with sporting and technical director Richard Garlick claiming yesterday: “We began talking to Shane about a new contract last spring and, during the ongoing negotiations, we made him two offers which would have significantly increased his salary. However, despite our best endeavours, Shane has declined to sign a new contract.

“Shane effectively only has 18 months left on his deal and with him no closer to accepting our terms and then Hull making an acceptable offer, we felt it was in the club’s best interests to accept the bid.”