IT can be dangerous to make predictions in football, but one can safely be made regarding Hull City’s Iranian striker Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.
It will mean a lot to him and his teammates, not to mention those close to him back in his home city of Amol, close to the Caspian Sea in northern Iran.
Moving between clubs in mid-season is rarely straightforward, more especially when you swap not only countries but differing cultures.
That is the reality that confronted Sayyadmanesh when he switched to East Yorkshire from Turkish giants Fenerbache at the end of January.
Brought in on loan with a view to the transfer being made permanent in the summer, the 20-year-old was always likely to require a period of integration.
So Hull may have to read beyond his current statistics – no goals in six games so far, with an injury not helping his cause.
Hull City’s Allahyar Sayyadmanesh during a Sky Bet Championship match at MKM Stadium, Hull.
In the here and now, he could just do with a goal to back the positive impression he has made on the training ground.
City head coach Shota Arveladze said: “If he’d scored last week, it would be much better for me and it would be a great leap. He has had two great chances in the last few weeks, but it will come.
“I would have liked to have used him much more, but he got injured and it takes time.
Allahyar Sayyadmanesh signed in January (Picture: Hull City)
Given that this is his third loan spell away from Fenerbahce, having previously impressed during spells at İstanbulspor and Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk, Sayyadmanesh clearly has a bit about him as an individual.
It is a view backed up by Arveladze, with the club going out of their way to help him assimilate into life in Yorkshire.
Arveladze continued: “He (Sayyadmanesh) is good and passionate and he has a will to do well in football and they (Iranians) have this history.
“He has been raised well and knows about respect and his position and how to act with the boys in the dressing room from his mum and dad and friends.“If we want people and players to succeed, we have to try and get them involved in every case.
“Let’s say they spend four hours at the club from 9 am to one or 1.30 pm. For the rest of the hours, they are outside.
“I don’t believe being on Zoom and Skype and having lunch with their families on the screen will make them play better. They have to be integrated. His English is good enough and his girlfriend is here.”
While Sayyadmanesh could be involved today, Mallik Wilks, the club’s top-scorer last season with 22 goals, is unlikely to be.
Despite City’s struggles for goals of late, Wilks – despite being fit again after recovering from a foot injury – has been omitted from several match-day squads. Given that he has scored in his last two games against Boro, he might be useful today.
“I am still pulling him out and telling him: ‘Come on, Mallik, we need you’.
“It can be quite long for speedy, heavy-muscled boys, like him. It is difficult to get to the level he was before. He had six to seven weeks out, then had a small injury and last week, he was sick and missed sessions. It is a little bit complicated.”
