Hull City and Rangers race to sign Gustavo Puerta on loan-to-buy deal – sources
Hull City are leading Rangers in the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Gustavo Puerta, sources have told Football Insider.
Rangers, Brondby, Red Star Belgrade, PAOK and Anderlecht have all shown an interest in signing the central midfielder before the window closes.
However, Hull are now in pole position to agree a loan-to-buy deal with Leverkusen.
The Championship club are offering a significant loan fee plus an obligation to buy in the summer of 2025 in the hopes of beating rivals to his signature.
The 21-year-old has been made available this summer after making just ten appearances across all competitions last time out.
Hull City pushing to sign Gustavo Puerta ahead of rivals across Europe
Puerta made the move to the German champions from Colombian outfit Bogota in January 2023 and spent a period on loan with FC Nuremberg.
However, upon his return to Alonso’s squad, he did not do enough to earn a regular place in the team and failed to start a single league game last season.
His current contract at Leverkusen is set to expire in 2028 after he signed a long-term deal upon his arrival, but he looks set to leave the club already.
Hull, meanwhile, are looking to strengthen their squad to aid their promotion push after narrowly missing out on the playoffs last time out.
New manager Tim Walter, formerly of Hamburg, is a big fan of Puerta after his time in Germany and will look to add him to his squad before 31 August.
The Tigers have lost key midfield options in Ozan Tufan, Ryan Woods and Fabio Carvalho from last season’s squad and had made a new central player a priority this summer.
In other news, Alan Hutton delivers instant reaction to Rangers Champions League trauma.
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