Hull City's Jimmy Bullard looks set to be unveiled as Paul Jewell's first Town signing on Thursday with the midfielder understood to have completed his loan switch to the Blues. TWTD was first to reveal that the 32-year-old was at Portman Road this morning for talks regarding his half-season spell which sees him reunited with Jewell, who was previously his boss at Wigan.
Sources at Hull City confirmed Town’s interest in the ex-West Ham, Peterborough and Fulham man earlier in the week with the Tigers desperate to off-loan Bullard’s £45,000-a-week wage. The one-time Gravesend and Northfleet player joined Hull from Fulham for £5 million during the Tigers’ stint in the Premier League and is contracted until 2013.
As with previous loan deals involving players on Premier League wages, such as last season’s recruitment of Daryl Murphy and David Healy, Town are likely to have agreed to pay only a proportion of the Londoner’s salary with reports in East Yorkshire suggesting the Blues will be paying only £10,000-a-week towards Bullard's salary.
Speaking after last night's game at Arsenal, chief executive Simon Clegg was typically taciturn regarding transfer speculation but told TWTD that the first deals of the transfer window were close: "I think that we are near on a couple of situations and I would expect people to be hearing some movement on what our intentions are over the next couple of days.”
Earlier in the week, Jewell revealed that the club had made two bids with Bullard and Luton's Andy Drury believed to be the players involved.
Bullard looks likely to make his Town debut when the Blues travel to Derby next Tuesday.