You heard it here first…
No, you really did. We did our scouting report last month, and Chris picked 26-year-old former Sunderland man Denver Hume as a possible City recruit. Well, now a report from Sam Allen in the Grimsby Telegraph has confirmed that we may well be looking at the player, who has been offered new terms by Grimsby Town.
Denver Hume
Hume came through the ranks at Sunderland, making his debut in 2018 and grabbing his first goal two years later in a win against Wycombe. He moved to Portsmouth in January 2022, penning a two-and-a-half-year deal, but struggled to fully establish himself in the third tier.
By February 2024, he dropped to League Two with Grimsby Town on a short-term deal. After doing enough to impress during the run-in, he earned a fresh one-year contract in June 2024 as the Mariners looked to rebuild. He was a key part of their play-off assault last season, and at one stage, he had more assists than any defender in English football.
Strengths
Hume’s strengths are attacking — crosses, overlaps, and dead-ball delivery. He created more chances than any other left-back in League Two and was in the top percentile for successful crosses and accuracy. Defensively, he’s solid, but not elite — the one weakness being aerial duels. That said, with aerially dominant centre-backs in place, you can afford an offensive full-back.
At 26, he’s not a project. Hume would walk into most League One teams and, importantly, he wouldn’t require a transfer fee. The biggest obstacle would be wages and competition — his pedigree will attract suitors. But if we want a ready-made starter who improves us immediately down the left, Hume’s name has to be near the top of the list.
Is It Likely?
Firstly, if we’ve picked him on a list, then there are factors we (or rather, Chris) has seen that make this likely. We need an oven-ready left back, not a project. We need one with a proven track record, which he has in League Two. Ideally, League One experience would be handy, which he has. Crucially, with him being out of contract, there’s an attraction there as well.
However, a lot of teams are going to be fishing in free agent markets and of those teams, we’re likely to be at the lower end of any wage scale. That presents an issue, but it is an issue I would imagine we have broached. I know nothing from the inside as people often believe, but seeing us linked with Hume today does not surprise me at all.