Matazo moves to Hull City

Hull City are delighted to announce the signing of Belgian midfielder Eliot Matazo from French Ligue 1 club Monaco for an undisclosed fee.

The 22-year-old has penned a three-and-a-half-year deal at the MKM Stadium, with a club option of an additional year.

The Belgium Under-21 international made 84 appearances for Monaco after joining their youth set-up from Anderlecht in 2018.

Featuring 14 times for Monaco’s B team in French football’s fourth tier, the diminutive defensive midfielder made his first-team debut in a 3-2 win over Strasbourg in September 2020.

He scored his first goal in a 1-0 success over Stade Reims, ending his breakthrough season with 14 appearances – four of which came during their run to the 2021 Coupe de France final.

Matazo surpassed that tally in 2021/22, playing 28 times as Monaco finished third in Ligue 1 and reached the last 16 of the Europa League, followed by 29 appearances in 2022/23.

Loaned to Royal Antwerp last February, he made 12 appearances back in his native Belgium and started the 2024 Belgian Cup final defeat to Union Saint-Gilloise.

Three of his seven appearances for Les Rouge et Blanc this season came in the Champions League, including one as a substitute against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Having captained his country at Under-16 and Under-18 level, Matazo has earned 22 caps in the Under-21 age group and played at the 2023 European Under-21 Championship.

Matazo said: “I’m very pleased to be here and very excited to start this new journey.

“It happened quickly. Hull City came to my agent and very quickly I had a talk with the manager, sporting director and president. The feeling was very positive and it was easy to make this choice.

“It’s a very ambitious project with great ideas and I’m also a very ambitious person. We match together. We both have big ambitions for the club. They want to help me in my journey and I want to help the club in their goals.

“I am a physical, technical player, fast. I like to combine with my teammates and I’m really orientated to the goal – I want to score goals, make actions – but I also like to defend.

“England is the best country to play football. I’m really excited to be on the pitch with the fans cheering for us.”

Welcome, Eliot!