Sean McLoughlin will be confirmed as a Hull City player by the end of this week after the Championship club agreed a fee with Cork City for the in-demand defender.

The former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international will undergo a medical in the UK on Thursday and sign a long-term contract after Hull's new manager, Grant McCann, finally managed to land a long-term target.

McCann, an ex-Northern Ireland midfielder, wanted to bring McLoughlin to Doncaster Rovers while he was in charge at the League One club last season.

Hull have now won the race to sign the 22-year-old centre back, with Championship rivals Preston North End also expressing an interest in McLoughlin’s situation as far back as seven months ago.

They had been put off by a fee of €250,000 during the January transfer window and re-ignited their interest at the start of the summer as the player’s contract runs out at the end of Cork’s current Premier Division campaign.

Portsmouth were also monitoring the situation, but it is Hull, with McCann’s backing, who have secured McLoughlin’s services ahead of the Championship season which begins next weekend.

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