Hull City assistant manager Craig Shakespeare says he’s aware that his club has competition for the signature of Spanish defender Daniel Ayala. The Blues and Premier League new boys Swansea are also understood to be chasing the 20-year-old centre-half.
The Tigers are believed to have had a fee of £850,000 accepted by the Reds for the 6ft 3in Spanish U21 international, who spent time on loan at the KC Stadium last season, but Shakespeare says he’s not sure whether he will sign: "We believe we have made a fair offer but we're not sure where Daniel and his agent see him next. We would love to have him back on board here but there is another club involved."
Ayala, who joined Liverpool from Sevilla’s youth set-up in 2007, has also spent time on loan at Derby, in addition to making five senior appearances for the Anfield club.
Asked about links with the El Saucejo-born defender yesterday, Blues boss Paul Jewell, himself a former Liverpool youngster, wouldn’t be drawn: "We could be here all day talking about speculation.
"I don’t want to be evasive, if I do something I want to do it quietly and when we do something you’ll get to know but I don’t want to do business through the papers because I don’t think it’s the right way.
"Some things get out, some are true, some are not, and I don’t really want to comment on that one way or another.”