Hull City manager Marco Silva has delved into his contact list to bring Norwegian right-back Omar Elabdellaoui to Hull City until the end of the season. The international teammate of Adama Diomande and Markus Henriksen will be surrounded by familiar faces after making 23 appearances for his nation and spending a season working under Silva during their time at Olympiakos.
A progressive talent
With Ahmed Elmohamady at the African Cup of Nations representing Egypt and Moses Odubajo yet to feature this season after picking up a long-term injury during pre-season, Silva has deployed David Meyler and Harry Maguire at right-back. Yet with both players struggling to adapt in an unfamiliar position, Silva wasted little time in bringing Elabdellaoui to Yorkshire for the rest of the season.
During three seasons in Manchester City's Academy, Elabdellaoui was shipped out on loan to Norwegian club Stromsgodset, Dutch giants Feyenoord and Germany's Eintracht Braunschweig. It was with the latter that he made the greatest impression, helping the side to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2013, before signing permanently with the club. It was during that period he earned his first of 23 international caps to date.
After a season at Eintracht, Greek side Olympiakos signed the defender where he began to prove his talent on a global basis. Marco Silva joined as manager at the end of Elabdellaoui's first season before overseeing another excellent year for the full-back that even saw him linked with a move to Manchester United last February.
"The fight is to stay in the league and that is a challenge I am looking forward to"
Silva moved quickly to secure the services of Elabdellaoui for the rest of the season and the Norwegian could make his debut against Chelsea on Sunday. Elabdellaoui explained that Silva was a key factor in his decision to come to England. "I’m really looking forward to playing under Marco Silva again, we had a really big season together last year with Olympiakos and I know the type of coach that he is. He is a big reason why I wanted to come here". He added "I have learnt a lot from him in the past and I know that I will improve and learn a lot more from him in the next few months here".
However, Elabdellaoui is fully aware of the challenge ahead after moving from Greece's top team to one of England's struggling sides. He stated “it is going to be different because at Olympiakos, we are expected to win every week and win the title every year. Here the fight is to stay in the league and that is a challenge I am looking forward to. I’m an attacking full back with plenty of energy, so hopefully I can bring that to the team".