Hull City seal double signing of Gelhardt and Gourna-Douath as Premier League rebuild hits 11 new faces

Hull City have made Joe Gelhardt and Lucas Gourna-Douath their 10th and 11th signings of the summer, pushing the promoted club's squad overhaul into double figures before a Premier League ball has been kicked.

Gelhardt arrives from Leeds United on a four-year deal with an option for a further 12 months. The Athletic reported that Hull and Leeds agreed a package worth £6.5 million for the 24-year-old forward, whose permanent move was completed on 13 August 2026.

For Gelhardt, it is a return to familiar ground. He spent two loan spells at Hull across 18 months, scoring 14 goals in the Championship last season and netting the tie-clinching second goal in the play-off second leg against Millwall — the goal that helped haul Hull back into the top flight. He started his career at Wigan before joining Leeds, where he managed three goals in 57 appearances around further loan spells at Sunderland and Hull.

Gourna-Douath joins from Red Bull Salzburg on a five-year contract. According to Sky Sports, the transfer was worth around €3.5 million (£2.9 million) plus add-ons, with a 10% sell-on clause — meaning Salzburg will pocket a slice of any future fee if Hull sell the player on. The French midfielder completed his move on 15 August 2026, as confirmed by Yahoo Sports.

The 22-year-old began his career at Saint-Etienne, making 65 appearances before moving to Salzburg in 2022. He played 95 times for the Austrian side across four seasons and spent the second half of last campaign on loan at Le Havre in Ligue 1, France's top division, where he made 15 appearances.

That Hull have already brought in 11 players tells its own story. Winning promotion via the play-offs — the end-of-season mini-tournament for Championship teams chasing the final promotion places — buys you a seat at the top table. Staying there is a different matter entirely. Newly promoted clubs routinely tear up their squads and start again, because the gap between the Championship and the Premier League is vast: faster players, sharper tactics, and opponents who punish mistakes in seconds rather than minutes.

For Hull fans, Gelhardt's return will land loudest. He already knows the club, the city, and the dressing room. He scored the goals that helped get them up. Now he has the chance to help keep them there.

Gourna-Douath is a different kind of bet. Four years in Salzburg's system — a club famed for developing young talent and selling it on at a profit — means he arrives with a European pedigree and Champions League experience. Whether that translates to the Premier League's intensity is the question Hull are paying around £2.9 million to answer.

Both fees, it should be said, are modest by top-flight standards. Hull are spending wisely rather than wildly, shopping in the gap between proven quality and untapped potential. Whether that approach is enough to survive a Premier League season is what the next nine months will decide.