According to reports in the Hull Daily Mail, Hull City are planning to open contract talks with the injured Abel Hernandez in order to extend his stay at the KCOM Stadium.

The 27-year-old striker's current deal is due to expire in the summer, and despite the fact that the Uruguayan has been missing since August with an Achilles injury the Championship side want him to commit his future to the east Yorkshire outfit.

However, the fact that he was expected to leave during the summer transfer window prior to his injury would suggest that perhaps the Uruguayan would be unwilling to do that, while he would also be able to agree a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club in the New Year.

Similarly to Hull, Leeds United are aiming to win promotion to the Premier League this season following a positive start to the campaign, and boss Thomas Christiansen could look to boost his squad in January to boost their push.

Here are three reasons the Whites should move for Tigers striker Hernandez in the upcoming transfer window…

Striker options

Thomas Christiansen knew he needed to act in the transfer market following the departure of Chris Wood to Burnley in August, and while Pierre-Michel Lasogga has done well – he has scored four goals in seven Championship games following his season-long loan move from Hamburg – it is an area the 44-year-old could be looking to strengthen in the New Year.

With Marcus Antonsson out on loan, summer additions Jay-Roy Grot and Pawel Cibicki struggling to make an impact and Kemar Roofe looking better from a deeper role, Christiansen doesn't have a wealth of good options up top and signing Hernandez would certainly go some way to sorting that issue for the second-half of the campaign.

Championship goal record

Following Hull's relegation from the Premier League in 2015, the onus was certainly on Hernandez to score the goals to fire them straight back to the top flight, and he duly delivered.

The Uruguayan scored 20 goals 39 Championship matches to help his team win promotion, while he has three goals in three league games – all of which came in the win against Burton Albion – this term before he suffered his injury.

If Christiansen is looking for a player that can score goals at this level but is also capable of making the step up with Leeds should they go up this season, he would do a lot worse than to move for the 27-year-old, who should be back in action in February.

Transfer fee

It is certainly far from guaranteed that Hernandez will be willing to commit his future to Hull even though they want him to, and should he choose to reject them then the Tigers may be forced to listen to offers for the striker in the New Year if they want to avoid losing him for nothing next summer.

While the 27-year-old can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club, it certainly shouldn't stop Leeds making an offer to keep the player in Yorkshire and the Championship to aid their promotion bid, and they certainly have some money to spend following the sale of Wood to Burnley during the summer.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.