Hull, Stoke battle for Badu

Hull City and Stoke City will reportedly compete for the signature of Udinese midfielder Emmanuel Badu in January.

Badu has played nine games for the Zebrette in Serie A so far this season, with the midfielder contributing one assist.

The Daily Mirror claims that the Ghanaian international has long attracted covetous glances from the English Premier League, with Hull City and Stoke City now ready to bid for the 23-year-old.

The paper states that both Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce [managers of Stoke and Hull respectively] are keen to bolster their midfield options and will try to prise the player from Udine in January.

The newspaper believes that while the Friuli club are not keen on selling Badu, a fee of €5m would probably be enough to convince them to part with the player who represented Ghana at this summer’s World Cup.

Such a fee would represent a significant profit for Udinese, who signed the player for less than €600k in 2010.