Hull City and Leeds United are set to go head-to-head in the race to sign Everton’s Matthew Pennington on-loan this summer, reports the Daily Mail.  

The Sky Bet Championship rivals are looking to bolster their squads ahead of the 2017/18 campaign, and with both in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, they have identified Pennington as a target this summer.

Pennington has come through the ranks at Goodison Park, and despite only making a handful of appearances for his boyhood club, the defender has impressed on loan spells at Tranmere Rovers, Coventry City and Walsall.

The 22-year-old has made nine senior appearances for Everton, seven of which came in the Premier League. Three of those were during the 2016/17 campaign, and Pennington even grabbed a Merseyside Derby goal against Liverpool in April’s 3-1 defeat.

Hull have lost Curtis Davies and Harry Maguire already this summer, leaving Leonid Slutsky short of defensive options on Hull’s return to the Championship, whilst Leeds also have issues in defence heading into next season.

The Whites have just Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper as senior central defenders in their squad, and the Elland Road club are reportedly looking towards the domestic transfer market to find defensive reinforcements this summer.

Hull and Leeds fans… Would you like to see Pennington make the move to your respective club this summer? Is he what your club needs? Let us know you thoughts!