Hull City: Former chairman Paul Duffen in talks to buy Championship club

Hull City are 21st in the Championship

Former Hull City chairman Paul Duffen is leading a consortium that is looking to buy the Championship club.

BBC Radio Humberside reports Duffen is heading a group from Saudi Arabia.

Owners the Allam family have been looking to sell the Tigers since 2014 and fans have protested against their ownership on a number of occasions.

City boss Nigel Adkins told the station "the desire is there to sell the football club" but he "did not know" how close a deal was to being done.

He added: "Sustainability has been the word here since the summer, obviously with the mindset of the owners selling the club. Budgets have been reduced and that is going to continue while the transition of looking to sell goes on.

"I've been in this situation before, it's my job to keep the players working hard and focused on what they are doing.

"It's a challenging period and we're doing the best that we can."

The Tigers are one point and one place above the Championship's relegation zone with two wins from their opening 11 games.

Duffen led Hull to the Premier League for the first time during his first spell with the club between 2007 and 2009 but resigned with the club in a precarious financial position.