‘Not the same deal’ - Grimsby Town boss lifts lid on pursuit of Sheffield Wednesday midfielder

Grimsby Town’s Paul Hurst says that it’s ‘unlikely’ that Sheffield Wednesday’s Alex Hunt will return to the club for the second half of the season.
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Hunt has enjoyed an impressive spell with the Mariners in the National League this season, putting in some fine performances in black and white as the club seek to gain promotion back up into League Two.

It had been thought that the 21-year-old Owls academy graduate would be spending the second half of the season at Blundell Park as well, with Hurst keen to keep him and Darren Moore suggesting that Wednesday were keen to him to keep getting senior minutes as part of their promotion push.

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Now though, after Hunt scored twice and grabbed an assist for Wednesday’s U23s in a 4-2 win over Coventry City, it looks as though the young midfielder may not be heading back to Lincolnshire after all.

It’s not exactly clear why an extended loan move is looking unlikely, but the comments from the Grimsby manager suggest that the requested terms this time around are different to his loan from the first half of the campaign.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Hurst said, "As we speak, he is back at their club… At the minute, it's looking unlikely he will return. It's not absolutely dead but, at the same time, it would be wrong of me to say it looks like he'll be back with us very soon because that's not the case.

"The deal is not the same deal. I would like to do a lot of business this month if possible. We know for us it can stretch beyond that but we want to get deals done as quickly as possible whilst we have as many games left as we have.”

Sheffield Wednesday's Alex Hunt is still wanted by Grimsby Town. (Pic Steve Ellis)Sheffield Wednesday's Alex Hunt is still wanted by Grimsby Town. (Pic Steve Ellis)
Sheffield Wednesday's Alex Hunt is still wanted by Grimsby Town. (Pic Steve Ellis)
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Wednesday welcomed back Charles Hagan and Ryan Galvin this week from their respective loan spells at Hampton & Richmond Borough and Gloucester City, while Josh Dawodu may also be on his way back to Middlewood Road in the coming days after his loan spell with Stalybridge Celtic came to an end.

There could be more exits on loan before January is out.