Hull boss Marco Silva determined to keep hold of West Ham target, while Jose Mourinho ranks EFL Cup semi-final greater than Liverpool showdown
Newly-appointed Hull boss Marco Silva has vowed to hold on to the club’s top-scorer Robert Snodgrass amid interest from fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham.
Hull turned down an offer, believed to be in the region of £3m, for Scotland winger Snodgrass, who has spearheaded his side’s bid for top-flight survival by netting nine goals this term.
Silva, appointed last week following the sacking of Mike Phelan, insists he has no intention of selling one of his prize assets and has called on the Hull board to invest in reinforcements during the January transfer window.
“In this moment, all I want is to improve my team,” said former Olympiacos manager Silva. “I don’t want to lose players, important players of course. I hope Snodgrass will continue with us, he’s an important player for us.”
Hull travel to Old Trafford on Tuesday where they will face Manchester United in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, which will see Silva lock horns with fellow Portuguese tactician Jose Mourinho.
Former Chelsea manager Mourinho, who is potentially three games from his maiden United trophy, has ranked tonight’s clash as greater in prominence than Sunday’s showdown against bitter rivals Liverpool.
“Hull may look at the semi-final as a big occasion,” said Mourinho, a three-time League Cup winner while in charge at Stamford Bridge. “Maybe for them, they have a more important game [against Bournemouth] three days later in the Premier League.
“Liverpool is a big match for us but we want to be in the final. We will face Hull with all the power we have. The second leg is away so if we can do something in the first leg to give us an advantage, we will try that.
“I think for big clubs a competition is a competition. I was never good at choosing competitions. At some of my clubs you arrive at April and you have a busy fixture list but you are in competitions to try to win, to try to do things.”
The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera are expected to be restored to the United starting XI after being rested for Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Reading.