It was yet another summer of change for Hull City as their temperemental board once again chose to shake things up and take the fan base by surprise.

After taking the Tigers to the cusp of the play-offs last season, Nigel Adkins was sacked as manager to be replaced by Doncaster boss Grant McCann, somebody with no prior second-tier management experience.

But there was one club figure who the fans were desperate to see hung onto, even more so than Adkins, and that figure was striker Jarrod Bowen.

Bowen was heavily linked with moves to the Premier League during the summer transfer window following an outstanding season in which he netted 22 times in the second tier, and provided two more assists, as the Tigers flirted with the play-offs before eventually falling away.

But, despite links with the likes of Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, the club completed their top summer goal and clung onto their man.

And he has started in a similar vein of form with the 2019/20 season already seeing him score four times in the opening eight matches with McCann's side sat comfortably in mid-table.

Following previous flirtations with the top-six, there is a sense that they could do it again. And I am inclined to agree. But it could depend on them completing a crucial deal.

On Thursday, McCann revealed that the club are likely to offer their star man a new deal within the coming weeks, something that will undoubtedly get fans excited, but it is a deal they will have to get over the line.

This is not to say that Bowen is the club's only star player. In Kamil Grosicki they have one of the second-tier's most consistently creative players and with the likes of Jackson Irvine, Markus Henriksen and Reece Burke dotted throughout the squad, it is one with a good sense of balance.

But Bowen remains the jewel in the crown. However, with no new deal to his name, there remains a serious risk of losing him during the January window and with him, their shot at the play-offs.

A new deal, even if it is just for a couple of years with a summer release clause, will at least ensure that they get a full season to push for that coveted spot.

It would be naive to think that losing such an integral squad member would not derail a play-off bid, unless he is perfectly replaced, which remains unlikely, especially in January.