Following Acun Ilicali's takeover of Hull City earlier this year, the Tigers are looking ahead to next season as a much more ambitious side. 

However, despite the higher expectations for the club, Hull were not able to keep hold of highly rated youngster Keane Lewis-Potter this summer as he joined Brentford in a £20 million deal.

Ilicali has previously stated his desire to keep the player suggesting that a £30 million bid wouldn't be enough to make his side sell although it became clear that it was a move the player wanted to make.

Nevertheless, the club's owner has admitted he still feels disappointed about the deal as he admitted to Hull Live: "Selling Keane was a transfer I would not have wanted to do.

"I said previously that I would not sell him for £30 million even if there was an offer.

"Of course, I was saying that if he wanted to be with us. Unfortunately, I had a meeting with him - he's such a nice boy and he gave us positive feelings in that meeting - but his agent was in a mood that if he didn't leave the club it would be the end of his life.

"He was disrespectful towards our club in the way he was talking, it made me want to see what Keane felt about it - I think he was controlled by his agent and wanted to leave, too.

"Of course, I would never go forward with players that don't believe in us. I offered Keane a triple increase in his salary and I asked him to play one more year so that he could improve and in a stronger team, he could improve his talents more."

Despite being disappointed, Ilicali is happy with the efforts made from his side and feels the move could be a mistake on the other side as he said: "He's only 21 and if I was him, I would have given one more year to the club which is his hometown club. Unfortunately, there was an agent in his mind trying to take him to the Premier League as soon as possible, which I think is a mistake. In football, some agents get their players to make wrong decisions, and in my experience, I believe this move is too early.

"Isn't it better for him to play against weaker defences in the Championship, improve his talents, improve his abilities and be more ready for the Premier League when he's 22? That's a question I have.

"I'm not disappointed for Hull City, I am disappointed for this young boy because I feel that he would have been very, very happy if he has stayed one more year."

The Verdict: 

You can see both sides of the debate on this one.

There's no doubting that Lewis-Potter is a player with heaps of potential having scored 12 goals in a poor Hull side last season and at 21-years-old, it's exciting to think about how the player could develop further.

Therefore, having earned himself a Premier League move you can't blame the player for being tempted by this and wanting to go and prove his talents in the top flight.

On the other hand, as the Hull owner says himself, it could be a move that has come a step too soon and had he taken another year at the MKM Stadium, he would've been the star of the show at Hull and had the platform to develop his talents further in a better team.

It's clear that the club were willing to go all out to secure their talent for another season. However, the fact they stopped pursuing the transfer once it became clear the winger was keen on making a move, speaks volumes about the environment and team that Hull are trying to create ahead of next season and it's one that will only make them stronger.