Kamil Zayatte set to sign on loan for Leicester City
Tuesday, September 07, 2010, 09:30
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Hull City defender Kamil Zayatte will join Leicester City on loan tomorrow – but the deal will not include a swap for Matty Fryatt.
City are understood to have agreed a loan deal with the Tigers over Zayatte, and his move is expected to go through when the loan window opens tomorrow.
It is not known whether the deal includes an agreement over a possible permanent move in January, but City will not entertain any suggestion of a swap deal for striker Fryatt.
A national newspaper said Hull boss Nigel Pearson will ask for Fryatt, who has struggled to hold down a starting spot in Paulo Sousa's City side, in exchange for the Guinea international, but any approach is unlikely to be received well at the Walkers Stadium.
The same report said City had agreed a £1million fee to sign Zayatte permanently, but the Mercury has learned that the reason City could not complete the transfer of the 25-year-old centre-back before the summer transfer window shut was because the player rejected a permanent move to the Walkers.
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City turned to Zayatte after having a bid for Swansea City defender Ashley Williams rejected.
Sources in Hull say Zayatte, who has two years left on his contract at the KC Stadium and is paid around £20,000 a week, rejected a three-year contract offer from City because he was reluctant to take a drop in wages.
Pearson has conducted a huge cost-cutting exercise since he left City to join the Tigers, and has slashed the wage bill in half.
He has been told he cannot strengthen his squad until the wage bill is reduced further, and the departure of Zayatte, who has started every game for Hull this season, will allow him to bring in Liverpool youngster Ayala on a season-long loan.
Zayatte scored for Guinea in their 4-1 African Nations Cup qualifier in Ethiopia over the weekend.
Sousa sees bolstering his defence as a priority and has also been linked with Nigeria defender Danny Shittu, who has been released by Bolton Wanderers.
We sign him on loan because he doesn't want a drop in wages. I think this is good news. We get to see how useless he is and then send him packing!