It seems that the end of this season is likely to be dominated by rumours concerning the future of on-loan Leeds star Julian Joachim.

Paul Merson has made no secret of the fact he would like to push the boat out to sign the striker, given the impact he has had since his arrival, but feels that the player’s wage demands may prove to be too high.

The latest rumour to surface, unsurprisingly in view of his hat-trick on Saturday, is that Hull City are interested. According to the Hull Daily Mail, the Tigers are seeing their attempts to sign a proven striker thwarted by the financial muscle of their Championship rivals.

Peter Taylor has been linked with Swindon’s Sam Parkin and he is known to be a big admirer of Bristol City hitman Leroy Lita. There are reports, however, that Wolves are preparing a £1.5m offer for Lita , more than Hull could afford in transfer fees, or wages. (Wolves’ proposed offer is thought to be worth around £12,000-per-week to Lita).

Reading are believed to have made enquiries about a possible swoop for Parkin, but they have been put off by a price tag of £750,000 - a staggering £500,000 more than Hull offered for the player last summer.

Other strikers currently being linked with City include veterans Brian Deane and Marcus Stewart and, following his performance on Saturday, the Mail also mentioned Joachim’s name.

Fortunately, this all looks like paper talk at the moment, but it does show that Merson needs to try and sort out Joachim’s position as soon as possible, otherwise it may be sorted for him!