Hull City winger Mohamed Belloumi’s entry into the second leg of the Championship semi-final against Millwall was far from ideal. Sent on by manager Sergej Jakirovic just before half-time to replace the injured Kyle Joseph, the Algerian left his frustrated boss and teammates waiting as he paused to tie his boot laces. Jakirovic didn’t hide his irritation. But 50 minutes later, with one goal and one assist, all was forgiven.
“Mo’s brilliant. He can be whatever he wants to be,” striker Oli McBurnie told Sky Sports. “He was probably unlucky not to start, but the gaffer obviously knew what he was doing because they both [along with Joe Gelhardt] came on and scored.”
The 23-year-old was undoubtedly the Tigers’ star as they booked a play-off final on Saturday, 23 May against either Southampton or Middlesbrough for a spot in the Premier League. His superb curling strike ended a two-and-a-half-hour goal drought in the semi-final, and he then won the ball back in his own half, drove forward, and set up Gelhardt—who had just come on—for the second goal.
Belloumi’s two seasons in English football have been far from straightforward. He joined Hull from Portuguese side Farense in August 2024 and started well, but an anterior cruciate ligament injury at Oxford in November ended his season. By the time he returned last August, the club had sacked both Tim Walter and his replacement Ruben Selles, bringing in Jakirovic. Understandably, it took time to regain form after such a serious injury, and two hamstring problems have kept him out for four months of this campaign. He started the goalless first leg on Friday and hit the post after two minutes, but Jakirovic said he began Monday’s game on the bench because he hadn’t been
