Hull City hierarchy sent warning over Tom Cannon pursuit as £5m bid launched
This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Hull City have joined Sunderland in submitting a £5 million bid for Leicester City striker Tom Cannon, with the transfer window slamming shut in just two days’ time – but the Tigers hierarchy have been warned over the potential risk of such a deal.
The 21-year-old has been the subject of plenty of interest this summer, but Hull are just the second club to table an offer to the Foxes, according to Football Insider.
Cannon only made the switch to Leicester this time last year, from Everton, but he was forced to play as the back-up to a rampant Jamie Vardy last season, and now it seems as though his services are no longer required at the King Power Stadium.
Both Sheffield United and Stoke City are targeting the striker, with the former reportedly looking at a loan-to-buy deal, as per Alan Nixon via Patreon.
Nevertheless, it has been Hull and Sunderland who have fired the first shots in this transfer saga, with the Foxes placing a £7 million price-tag on Cannon’s head.
| Tom Cannon Championship Stats (TransferMarkt) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season/Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2022/23 – Preston North End | 20 | 8 | 1 |
| 2023/24 – Leicester City | 13 | 2 | 1 |
Hull City told Tom Cannon transfer bid is a big risk
Although Cannon does seem to be a top target at this late stage of the window, Hull have already signed two strikers in the last few weeks.
Chris Bedia has been brought to the club on loan from German club Union Berlin, while Mason Burstow was signed from Chelsea for around £2 million earlier this month.
Nevertheless, that has not stopped Tim Walter from looking at Cannon.
However, FLW’s Hull Fan Pundit, Ant Northgraves, is not too sure about the potential move, citing the potential risks involved with such a big-money deal for someone with as little senior experience as Cannon.
“I think this kind of move would make more sense if we didn’t already have two strikers at the club,” Ant told Football League World.
“We’re in desperate need of goals this season as, obviously, we’ve lost all of our goalscorers in the summer, and we’ve brought in Chris Bedia and Mason Burstow.
“But Bedia is not experienced in the Championship and Burstow has not really scored many goals in his career.
“In terms of signing somebody who we know would come in and make an instant impact and score goals, Tom Cannon fits the bill of being young and having high potential.
“However, in terms of actually having a pedigree of scoring goals at this level, he’s not done that yet, so it would certainly be a risk for that amount of money when you could probably find somebody a bit more established and dependable at this level.”
Tom Cannon may not have done enough to justify £7 million price-tag
where he scored eight goals in 20 Championship appearances, before finding the back of the net just twice in 13 games for Leicester last season.
Although he is promising, the 21-year-old is yet to prove himself as consistently prolific, and may take time to get the ball rolling – something that Hull probably can not afford to happen, especially for £5 million.
You’d have expected Cannon to get more chances under Enzo Maresca last season, but arriving with a back injury probably didn’t help his cause, and neither did having experienced heads such as Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka ahead of him in the pecking order.
It’s best for Leicester to recoup their money for Cannon and the player himself to go and get game-time, but Hull already have a couple of strikers they’ve spent money to get through the door this summer – splashing a big fee on the ex-Everton man too may end up being overkill.