HULL City have rejected an approach from Middlesbrough for defender Jacob Graves.

Greaves, who is currently considering a contract offer from the Tigers, is the subject of interest from Boro who has one year left on his current deal.

Hull’s vice chairman Tan Kesler confirmed that Boro had declared their interest in the 21-year-old through an informal conversation but did not make an official approach.

Kesler told BBC Radio Humberside: “I got a phonecall from Middlesbrough maybe two weeks ago. They asked me about his current situation and would we consider selling him. We said ‘sure, we will listen to any offers’.

“They came back with some numbers that are not even significant to our investment so we said no. Other than that, I have not received any official offers from Jacob.”

Greaves has made 85 appearances for the Tigers since coming through their youth academy in 2019 but is now the subject of interest from Boro who are looking to make sweeping changes to their squad for next season.

Chris Wilder has already moved to bring Darragh Lenihan, Liam Roberts and Ryan Giles to the club as Boro look to assemble a squad capable of pushing for promotion this season.

While Boro’s interest may have waned since their initial approach a fortnight ago, Kesler is determined to keep hold of Greaves, who is looking to test himself at a different level.

The Hull vice-chairman continued: “For Jacob as well, we are trying all our best to stay in touch with the FA in terms of Jacob to go to the national team regularly. In a way, lobbying and explaining, not that they need it but we are trying to get them promoted as much as possible as opposed to automatic bids from Premier League clubs.

“Jacob played all of our games but he wants to see himself at a certain level and we see him on a progressive level.”