CITY PAY £3M FOR PUERTA

HULL City have signed Colombian midfielder Gustavo Puerta on a permanent deal from Bayer Leverkusen after the midfielder triggered a clause in his loan deal.

- By BARRY COOPER

Puerta started his 20th game of the season on Friday as the Tigers were beaten 1-0 by Swansea, before coming off on the hour to be replaced by Matt Crooks, who was later sent off.

City will pay 3.5m euros (£3m) to Leverkusen, the reigning Bundesliga champions, after the 21-year-old reached the number of starts required in the loan deal the Tigers signed back in the summer, which brought Puerta to the MKM Stadium under former manager Tim Walter.

The talented youngster has signed a three-year contract with the option of a fourth.

His Tigers contract will officially begin on July 1.

Puerta recently suggested he was eyeing a potential move next season.