The Tigers lost Irish front man Shane Long to Southampton for £12million and Bruce has failed in his attempts to land an English forward

Hull City boss Steve Bruce is making a £9million move for Lorient’s Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar - after being priced out of domestic talent.

Bruce has opened talks with the French club for their powerful front man who had his best-ever campaign last season and is keen to move to England.

The Tigers chief has money to spend from the sale of Shane Long and has drawn blanks with home-based strikers Danny Welbeck and Troy Deeney.

Bruce would prefer to sign players in England, but he has switched across the Channel where Aboubakar is highly-priced but could have a bigger valuation if he hits it off.

Hull are down to Nikica Jelavic and Yannick Sagbo and need at least one new forward as they prepare for a season with European games.

Aboubakar, just 22, scored 16 times last season and has also notched at international level where he is already in the Cameroon national side.