Yes, you read right - 'The Beast' almost became a Tiger. Back in 2009, one may have read about Hull City trying to tie up a deal for the Real Madrid outcast, having just stayed up on the final day of the season by the skin of their teeth. Of course, not everything was how it seemed in the case of Alvaro Negredo's proposed transfer to the KC Stadium. There was no way that Hull City could have afforded splurging £12 million on just one player after a solitary season in the top-flight. What the public didn't know was that it was a guise for a faux-loan deal, and that the Galacticos would have 'The Beast' back amongst their ranks within a year.
''We were going to pay £12 million, plus his wages, then Real were going to buy him back for £13 million, but Negredo signed for Sevilla. The club was not big enough. You were talking about going from Real Madrid to Hull City.'' - Phil Brown, July 2013.
It had proved to be a frustrating summer for the Tigers in terms of boosting their strike-force, having been thwarted in their attempts to sign Michael Owen, Fraizer Campbell, Bobby Zamora and Marc-Antoine Fortune. Having to settle for 30 year old Jan Venegoor of Hesselink as their only striking reinforcement as a free transfer two days after the transfer window ended went some way to explaining just why they dropped through the relegation trapdoor nine months later.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
