Hull City are heading back to the Championship and return a side full of a lot more confidence than the group that dropped into League One during the 2019/20 campaign.  

Grant McCann’s side fell dramatically that season and were truly awful during the second-half of the campaign, which left them facing up to life down in League One.

What was next was anyone’s guess, but McCann silenced all doubters by delivering promotion and the League One title at the first time of asking.

The Tigers return to the Championship with a spring in their step. Mallik Wilks, Josh Magennis and Keane Lewis Potter have provided plenty of excitement over the last 12 months, whilst George Honeyman has found his stride too.

How can McCann evolve his squad, then?

Every Championship club looks to lean on Premier League loans and you wouldn’t expect Hull to be much different in their first year back.

With that in mind, we take a look at 10 players that are likely to be available and would make very good signings:

Idah was part of the Norwich City squad that won the Championship title last season and promotion back into the Premier League.

The 20-year-old, though, featured on just 17 occasions and scored three goals in the league, with just one start in that run of appearances.

Daniel Farke rates him, but it is still highly unlikely that Idah will get more opportunities in the Premier League.

Norwich could well seek a loan for the young forward, whilst Hull could do with sourcing some extra firepower to ensure they’ve got enough variety in their attack to be competitive in the Championship.

With George Long moving on and starting a new chapter in his career with Millwall, there’s certainly scope for Hull to bring in a goalkeeper to compete with Matt Ingram.

Burnley goalkeeper, Norris, could be a decent option for McCann. He’s behind Nick Pope and Bailey Peacock-Farrell at Turf Moor and would surely relish the opportunity to get out and really compete for a starting spot.

Sean Dyche isn’t a big fan of moving on his third choice goalkeepers, admittedly, but if Hull can offer him the chance to really compete with Ingram, they might just twist Burnley’s arm.

Clarke is a product of the Leeds United academy that has since moved on to Tottenham in a multi-million pound transfer.

However, the winger’s career hasn’t really taken off like many expected. A move back to Leeds didn’t really work out, whilst Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City never got the best out of him on loan.

Hull might be different. McCann has got the best out of two other young forwards in Mallik Wilks and Keane Lewis Potter, so might just be able to chip into Clarke’s potential should he make the move to the KCOM.

Clarke could offer variety within McCann’s squad and would prove to be a very useful signing if you got him performing to his best levels.

Davis featured on 15 occasions in the Premier League last season for Aston Villa, scoring once and assisting another goal.

The 23-year-old was on the end of plenty of praise for the different style he offered Dean Smith in attack, but it feels like the striker is reaching a crucial stage of his career.

Villa’s squad is evolving and looking to compete for Europe and they might well leave Davis behind.

He’d be a top addition for most in the Championship and it would be interesting to see how he would perform with a regular run of games under his belt.

Again, for Hull, he’d offer that variety and a little bit more quality behind McCann’s frontline strikers.

Reece Burke and Jordy De Wijs have both moved on this summer, so an experienced centre-back would be a welcome addition for McCann.

Matt Clarke has spent the last two seasons on loan in the Championship with Derby County, finding his feet at the level after Brighton picked him up from Portsmouth.

There’s every chance that Brighton might take a closer look at Clarke this summer to decide whether he’s worth a shot at the AMEX, but given the Seagulls’ pool of centre-back talent, it does feel unlikely.

Hull could offer him a fresh challenge in the Championship after two years at Derby. It would be a top addition to plug a significant void in McCann’s squad.

A move for the Leeds United academy ace would be a little bit of a risk from Hull’s perspective. Gotts spent time with Lincoln City on loan last season, but struggled to get minutes under his belt in League One.

He then moved on to Salford City, where he impressed as an attacking midfielder in League Two.

The doubt, though, is whether he’s good enough to step up into the Championship on the back of that.

Gotts is highly rated at Leeds still and can play either in midfield or at right-back. He’s a useful option to have around and McCann would surely be delighted to have a player with his kind of versatility on the books.

As mentioned, Hull have young talent on their books and it might be an environment that Gotts can thrive in. Interest has been there before and might come around again.

The 19-year-old thrived on loan with Blackburn Rovers last season, making 19 appearances under Tony Mowbray after he captured his service from Manchester City.

Harwood-Bellis is an England youth international with plenty of quality and is regarded as a top, top talent.

Hull would benefit from his quality at the back next season given how he performed at Blackburn, whilst the teenager would benefit from playing in a squad that feels like it is on the rise.

The issue for Hull here is that the likelihood is a host of other Championship clubs might be in the mix to sign Harwood-Bellis.

Another Man City talent that’s catching the eye at the moment is Liam Delap.

The 18-year-old has already made his senior debut under Pep Guardiola and enjoyed a fine 2020/21 in the under-23s, scoring 24 goals in just 20 appearances.

Delap is prolific and, again, if he’s made available for a loan this summer by City, there will be a host of clubs interested in taking him on board.

Hull, you feel, should be one of those clubs. They could offer him plenty of football and could lean on his goalscoring record upon their Championship return.

Of course, you don’t want your side top heavy, but of all the out-and-out strikers Hull could go for, Delap might be the most exciting option.

Branthwaite is another young defender that spent time on loan with Blackburn Rovers last season in the Championship.

The 18-year-old made 10 appearances for Mowbray after arriving at the club from Everton.

There’s plenty of potential when it comes to the Everton centre-back, but he needs game time.

Hull could provide him with that and, of course, make good use of the raw talent the teenager has.

McCann will be minded to not overload his squad with young defenders over the summer, but given the pool of talent kicking around in the Premier League, he would be foolish not to take a look.

Finally, we take a look at a forward that’s got a little bit of variety in his play in the form of Gelhardt.

The Leeds United man excelled last season in the club’s under-23s, but he’s got 19 Championship appearances under his belt from his time with Wigan Athletic.

In that time, he scored once (against Hull) and Leeds will be minded to not stunt his development too much in the coming season.

He needs senior football to truly develop and if that’s not on the cards at Elland Road, it might be at Hull.

They could benefit from his ability to both lead the line and play that touch deeper, getting on the ball and making things happen.