Hull City Boss Marco Silva Insists Andrea Ranocchia Is 'Still an Inter Player' for Now

Hull City boss Marco Silva has insisted that Saturday's match-winning hero Andrea Ranocchia is still an Inter player and he will 'see what happens' at the end of the season in terms of a permanent move.

The 29-year-old defender scored his first goal in a Hull City shirt on Saturday, thumping in a near-post header to beat West Ham 2-1 at the KCOM Stadium.

Ranocchia is currently on loan at Hull until the end of the season after joining Marco Silva's side in January, but the Tigers boss hasn't ruled out a permanent switch this summer.

​“Ranocchia? He’s an Inter player, now he has to only think about doing his best for this club, then we’ll see what we can do at the end of the season,” Silva was quoted as saying by ​Football Italia.

“I have no doubts about him: when you’re a good player, you can play anywhere, in any country.

“Andrea is experienced, he wasn’t in a good way at Inter but came here to spend more time on the pitch and gain confidence.”

The towering centre-half admitted his delight at scoring his first goal for Hull, a goal that gifted his side a huge three points in their pursuit for survival.

“I was very happy with the win and to score my first goal in the Premier League. It was a great day!” he told the ​Tigers’ official website.

“First and foremost - it was an important victory for us. The result is what mattered the most and we got the three points we wanted.

“To score the goal was a bonus, but obviously I was delighted to score and share the moment with my team-mates and the fans.

“We enjoyed the West Ham victory in the immediate aftermath, but now it is in the past and our only focus is on the Middlesbrough game on Wednesday night.

“It is another important match for us as we look to achieve our goal of staying in the Premier League and we are determined to get another win.”

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