Hull manager Phil Brown remains hopeful of re-signing crowd favourite Fraizer Campbell before the start of the Barclays Premier League campaign.
The 20-year-old striker scored 15 goals as the Tigers secured promotion to the top flight during a successful loan spell from Manchester United last season.
Campbell is now back in pre-season training with United and featured in a friendly at Aber
deen last weekend, but Brown is keen to open discussions with the champions after their upcoming tour of South Africa.
Brown said: "I spoke at length with Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of the season, having kept him up to speed with the progress that Fraizer Campbell had made all season.
"He was adamant that all his players would come back for pre-season training.
"When they come back from South Africa there is an opportunity to talk again.
"I fully trust Sir Alex's word on that and when they come back I will be putting a call in. There is always a possibility."
Campbell is likely to command a fee of around £5m and other clubs, including Aston Villa, have also been linked with the youngster.
It is unclear whether United would sell the player, but Brown would also be interested in bringing him back to the KC Stadium on another loan deal.
"He is very, very important to me and it is vital that we get the right quality strikers in," added Brown.
"It is difficult. There are one or two strikers out there we have earmarked as priority, but if Fraizer Campbell became available we would certainly be interested in taking him, either permanent or on loan."
Brown is currently overseeing a major recruitment drive ahead of the club's first season in the top flight and has already signed Craig Fagan, Geovanni and Bernard Mendy.
Other targets have been identified but the Tigers boss has set no deadline for a deal to be reached for Campbell before turning his attention elsewhere.
Another potential signing, South African midfielder Delron Buckley, scored for the Tigers last week as he continued his trial with a run-out in a pre-season friendly at Winterton Rangers.
Geovanni was also on target in the 4-0 win with the other goals coming from John Welsh and Joe Lamplough.
All the goals came in the second half with Geovanni opening the scoring with a deflected effort from the edge of the box.
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The full article contains 413 words and appears in Yorkshire Sport newspaper.
