'We will use it for the club's benefit' - Ilicali on £55m loan

Hull City owner Acun Ilicali says the club has taken out a £55m bridging loan to be in a "strong financial position" for their return to the top flight, despite being close to receiving their first wave of Premier League money. Last week, football finance expert Kieran Maguire said the loan from a third party investment group seemed "strange", adding: "It leaves you scratching your head a little bit." Ilicali explained the decision in an interview with BBC Radio Humberside: "Why is it strange? We want this club to be financially strong to be able to make transfers. "I respect that everyone is talking about this loan but, at the end of the day, what we are trying to do is be in a strong financial position so that we can spend money when we need to. "This club was supported with money from my company for four years. All I can ask is for our fans to not worry about any of the financial things. We can loan money and spend money. They should be confident that we are going to use the money in Hull City. "All we have done is take the money that we are going to get anyway a bit sooner, so that we can be stronger in the transfer market. We will use it for the club's benefit. We need to make good transfers this summer so we need more money now. "We have to be strong in the Premier League. It takes around two to three weeks to get some transfers [over the line] so we have to move quickly. In order to be quick, we need the money in advance." Listen to the full interview above or listen on BBC Sounds