Recent signing Thomas Mayer may not be the type of player fans of Hull City expected to sign following relegation to League One from the Championship after a torrid end to the 2019/20 campaign. Their record when signing players from across Europe has been inconsistent, putting it nicely.

Several of these players have struggled to nail down a regular place in the squad over the years and fans would be forgiven for being pessimistic about the new acquisition from Erste Liga club Austria Lustenau. Fellow Austrian Martin Pušić is a prime example of this, who struggled with form and injuries and was subsequently released 6 months into his contract in January 2012. More recently, Frenchman David Milinković and Hungarian Norbert Balogh both failed to make an impact.

  • Effective from the bench but Mayer deserves a start now

Mayer made his debut coming on from the bench at half time in the Carabao Cup victory over Leeds United at Elland Road, a particularly impressive way to introduce yourself, after very little to cheer about for the Tigers since falling from the pedestal as Yorkshire's best performing club over the last decade. He looked raw, eager to get the ball forward at any opportunity and followed his teammates' lead with their hard pressing style, giving Leeds very little room to manoeuvre as they struggled with City's ferocity without the ball.

After City went one-nil up and created a flurry of clear cut chances, Leeds equalized in the 93rd minute against the run of play and City were left to rue their missed chances, before eventually winning the tie after a nine-eight victory in the shootout. Mayer scored from the spot in the process, coolly and calmly slotting it passed Kiko Casilla. Ironically, City's next opponent in the Carabao Cup is Jarrod Bowen's West Ham United, who left the Tigers in January after a spectacular run of form and the void his departure has left is a great opportunity for Mayer to showcase his ability, albeit with big boots to fill.

On his league debut vs Crewe Alexandra at the KCOM Stadium, Mayer showed more of what he has to offer after coming off the bench once more in place of the unusually quiet Keane Lewis-Potter on 63 minutes. His pinpoint, in-swinging cross with his left foot from the right flank was perfectly set up for Mallik Wilks to apply the diving header and give the Tigers all three points.

  • The view from Austria
     

To help the Tigers fans gain further insight into Mayer's ability, Austrian football analyst Anna Konovalova (Twitter:@FRFussballAnna) was more than happy to share her views.

  • An in-depth look at Thomas Mayer's background


​​​​"He’s a physical, robust, but nevertheless fast left-footed winger with great technique and an eye for key passes and assists. He’s fairly versatile in terms of his positions, but did not use some of the skills he actually has in the last season while playing under a manager who was fairly limited tactically – so there’s hope he could be given more freedom or a wider diversity of tasks.

"He passed through two of the biggest youth systems in the country, LASK and Salzburg, so he has quite a significant youth background by Austrian standards, but his natural qualities are a bit different from what those systems look for – he’s more simple, direct and physical, while more refined, intellectual players with a tendency to think too much on the pitch are often preferred there.

This is how he ended up at Lustenau in the 2. Liga – last season they managed to build together a very strong squad that could easily push for promotion, and he was a key part of it. Still, the team underperformed significantly and finished the season with a big disappointment, despite reaching the Austrian Cup final (and losing it 0-5 to the biggest club in the country, RB Salzburg). Mayer was the only element of that team that kept being reliable even during turbulent times".​​

  • ​​​​​Reaction from Austria Lustenau fans following his departure
     

​​​​"His departure was expected. The club – just like most of the Austrian second tier teams – was expected to undergo a big squad overhaul this summer, and this time aiming for a lower budget and young local players instead of any promotion hopes. It was known for a while that the other star player of the team, striker Ronivaldo, is going to leave, too, so given that Mayer was one of the brightest players in the league, his departure was just a matter of time.

Still, he was more expected to land somewhere else – lower part of the Austrian Bundesliga table, somewhere like the German 2. Bundesliga or 3. Liga and so on. So a move to England came as a big surprise."

  • What can be expected from Mayer


"At Lustenau, he was a player defining all of the attacking style of the team. His flank (right, the most comfortable one for his left-foot) was the most used path to the penalty area, and he was responsible for creating a significant amount of scoring opportunities, whether for other players or himself.

His goal and assist tally was quite impressive for this league (six and ten), he was second-joint assist-maker last season – and his partner in attack, the aforementioned striker Ronivaldo, a great forward by himself for this level of football, scored 31 goals across all competitions with quite a lot of help from Mayer.

What makes him stand out is the fact that he tends to make the right passing choices without overthinking them – simple and efficient actions.  He’s also good at ball recoveries and fast transitions when actually getting the ball, which makes him useful for the overall dynamic in the attacking half of the pitch."

  • Adapting to England and League One football

"It can be possible (to struggle to adapt). If we’re speaking precisely about players from the Austrian leagues, it was a problem for most players arriving to England in the last few years because of the physical requirements – and most of all it affected attacking players. I remember Patrick Schmidt telling an Austrian newspaper several weeks after his transfer to Barnsley that his first two weeks of training were a blur, because he felt unbearably tired after each session. And he’s not alone in this.

In Mayer’s case his natural physical quality can surely help him, but it’s needed to keep in mind that he comes from a second tier with very low requirements, and Lustenau wasn’t exactly a well-powered pressing machine or a team relying on high speed. So, despite his impressive debut already, things can go a bit slower in the next few weeks."

  • His assist for Mallik Wilks on his league debut

"This assist is basically a taste of what’s to come: a very typical one for him. His passing and crossing are indeed good – it’s what he’s there for, and he sees the space in front of him quite easily in order to find the needed target." ​​