Hull City have signed Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia on a six-month loan deal, the Premier League club have confirmed. It was reported that Ranocchia’s agent was recently in London to hold talks with Tottenham. After the recent injury to Jan Vertonghen, it was reported that Spurs are on the lookout for a new defender. The club’s progression into the fifth round of the FA Cup also means that manager Mauricio Pochettino will have to deal with the fixture condition, and the injuries to key players like Vertonghen does not spell good news. However, Ranocchia has opted KCOM stadium.

Ranocchia has not moved permanently move to Hull City. Instead, he has joined the relegation-threatened outfit on a loan deal. The 28-year-old is an Italian international after having made his debut for the national team in 2010. Since then, he has made 21 appearances for Italy. However, he has not been in among the favour at Milan as he has made only five league appearances this season.

Ranocchia was a £10 million signing from Genoa back in 2011 and even though he was a first-team regular during his initial years at the club, he has fallen down the pecking order and Ranocchia clearly wants to retain his spot in the national team.

◾️ | Our new loan signing will wear the number 13 shirt and is on Twitter! Everyone get following @23_Frog #WelcomeAndrea pic.twitter.com/t1mjEMgAfr

— Hull City (@HullCity) January 31, 2017

During his time at Inter Milan, Ranocchia has made 166 appearances for the club. His time at the club seemed to be on a decline even as early as last season when he went on loan to Sampdoria. It is understood that Ranocchia was keen on a permanent move, but since club are not interested the asking fee of £15 million, he braced himself to move to the Premier League on a temporary basis.

The addition of Ranocchia would be a major positive for Hull City, who have sold a number of players in this January transfer window. New manager Mark Silva, however, has also brought in six new players including Markus Henriksen. Players like Lazar Markovic and Omar Elabdellaoui have joined the club on loan deals.

The entry of Tottenham into the race for Ranocchia might have tempted the player to move to White Hart Lane, but nothing such happened. Compared with the relegation battle of the KCOM stadium, Tottenham are involved in the league title race. There was also a huge possibility of regular first-team opportunities with the club being involved in 2 cup competitions in the second half of the campaign.