Hull FC chief breaks silence on Jake Trueman link and other recruitment targets

Jake Trueman has become one of the most popular names linked with a move away from Castleford Tigers in recent weeks.

The halfback is expected to sign for Hull FC with Trueman out of contract at the end of the season.

But, Hull chief executive James Clark refused to be drawn on the rumours, though he did declare his admiration for the 23-year-old.

“That’s probably for somebody else to announce,” Clark told BBC Humberside.

“But what I will say is that Jake Trueman is a very talented footballer and a 23-year-old English halfback is going to command a lot of attention.

“There’s no surprise we’ve been linked and dare I say others have been linked.”

Clark also hinted at investment in youth and younger players was the tonic for the future of the club.

“It’s a long-term project for us and Adam (Pearson) has said in the press, our immediate priority is to stabilise the club.

“We’ve lost an awful lot of money through Covid and we need to encourage our members back and we have to keep the club alive and that’s our immediate focus, but we want to remain competitive on the pitch.

“You’ll probably get to see a little bit more of a glimpse into that strategy through some of our recruitment.

“It very much centres around young, homegrown players and you’ve seen a glimpse of that with our Centre of Excellence, the new training facility and Denive (Balmforth) making his debut.

“That’s an idea of where we’re heading but you won’t get raucous statements from us – we want to be consistent and give the fans something to shout about and be proud of.”