McLoughlin pens new Tigers deal after impressing under Rosenior
BRIGHT FUTURE: Sean McLoughlin. Picture by Hull City
By Simon Bristow
Highly-rated defender Sean McLoughlin has signed a new three-year contract at Hull City.
The club confirmed today that the 26-year-old had penned a new deal until the summer of 2026, with a club option of a further year.
The deal marks an impressive turnaround for McLoughlin in his Tigers career, having been largely overlooked under previous regimes to now being hailed by new boss Liam Rosenior as “someone I want to build a team around”.
Head coach Rosenior said: “I think he’s grown, he’s improved, he’s grown as a character, he’s become a real leader in the dressing room, and he’s someone that I’ve said I want to build a team around.
“I think he’s been magnificent considering when I first came in I don’t think he played a game. He’s someone who I saw straight away, especially when we went away to Turkey for a week, I really liked what I saw and I think he’s grown in confidence.
“And the exciting thing for me is I think he’s got a lot more potential development to go”
Asked about McLoughlin’s no nonsense approach, Rosenior said: “I think one of the biggest things for Sean, the biggest compliment I can pay him, he’s a fantastic professional. He’s a good lad. He’s a very, very good player.
“I think one of the things that myself, Justin [Walker, assistant head coach] and Daws [Andy Dawson, first-team coach] have spoken to Sean about is having more belief in himself.
“So for example, when I first came in I was really hoping he would come in and knock my door down because he hadn’t been playing, and to be fair in the end it took me a week to drag him in my office and say ‘Why haven’t you knocked the door down, you’re a good player?’
“From that he’s grown, he’s improving all the time. I love how calm he is in possession – and that’s a really important part of the way I want to play, but he also defends his box really, really well. He’s put his long-term future in our hands and I think he’s in the right place.”
Sean McLoughlin signed from Cork City for an undisclosed fee in July 2019 on a three-year deal.
The Irish centre-back has made 78 appearances in Black and Amber since joining from his hometown club.
An ever-present since the World Cup break, the Tigers have kept ten clean sheets in the 21 league matches McLoughlin has started this season, only conceding 18 goals.
He similarly helped shore up the City backline after coming into the side last term, featuring 33 times as relegation was comfortably avoided in the club’s first campaign back in the second tier.
Initially loaned to St Mirren in 2019/20, McLoughlin has had to wait patiently for opportunities but is now a regular fixture and dependable performer at the heart of defence.