Hull City confirm signing of Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia

Premier League strugglers Hull City have this morning confirmed on their official Twitter page the signing of Inter Milan centre-back Andrea Ranocchia on loan until the end of the season.

The Italian international has been restricted to just five Serie A starts this term, the latest of which coming at the beginning of December, and hasn’t appeared in any competition for the club in 2017.

Thus, Tigers boss Marco Silva saw his chance to strengthen his defence with the signing of the experienced 28-year-old, who has made in excess of 300 club appearances in his career, and has been capped 21 times by the Italian national team.

The defender made the move to Inter in the middle of the 2010/11 campaign after decent spells at Arezzo and Genoa, and went on to make over 150 appearances for the Italian giants before moving on loan to Sampdoria in the second half of last season.

Now, he’s clearly a surplus to requirements at the San Siro, but will certainly go some way to strengthening a Hull defence that has conceded 47 goals this season – only Swansea (51) have conceded more in the Premier League this term.

Ranocchia will be available for selection for the Tigers’ trip to Manchester United in the league tomorrow (8pm kick-off).