Bruce to do “all he can” to keep Spurs loanee.
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Hull City manager Steve Bruce has admitted that signing Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jake Livermore on a permanent basis is his main priority this summer.
Livermore is coming towards the end of a season-long loan at the KC Stadium and the 24-year-old has enjoyed an excellent campaign with the Tigers.
He has made 32 Premier League starts for Hull, which is 21 more than he managed for Spurs in four seasons on the first-team fringes at White Hart Lane.
Livermore has scored three goals and provided four assists during his loan spell and Bruce is desperate to retain his services.
Hull have exceeded expectations this term. They had been tipped to battle relegation, but, with three games remaining, they find themselves 13th in the table.
The South Yorkshire club have also reached their first ever FA Cup final and, due to the lofty league position of Wembley opponents Arsenal, Bruce’s side will qualify for next seas0n’s Europa League.
“We’ve budgeted to be 20th,” Bruce told Sky Sports. “Anything on top of that might help me bag Jake Livermore, for example.
“It’s important that we stay where we are. We’ve been around the 13th or 14th mark since last September, so my aim is to stay there until at the end of the season.
“The first piece of business I’ll try to do is to secure Jake if I can. I’ll do everything I can to buy him. I think everyone knows my stance and, all things being equal, Jake would like to stay here.
“I would love to do something quickly, if we possibly can. Jake has indicated to us that he would like to stay, so we’ll see how it develops.”
Livermore, who still has another two years left to run on his current Spurs contract, is a senior England international.
He featured as a second-half substitute as the Three Lions beat Italy 2-1 in a friendly in Berne in August 2012.
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