Hull City boss Liam Rosenior has said the decision to invest in Irish club Dundalk is a sign of significant progress off the pitch for the ambitious Championship club.
A deal has not yet been finalised but Hull owner Acun Ilicali visited Oriel Park last month to discuss investing in the club.
And Hull with hope to benefit from their relationship with the club both on and off the pitch, in the same sort of way Premier League clubs operate similar structures for the development of players.
Not only will the Tigers be able to tap into a pool of talent from Ireland, but they'll also be able to bring in young players from abroad with the ultimate aim of preparing them for English football.
And given the restrictions since the UK left the European Union, signing players from abroad has been made increasingly challenging for British clubs.
"It's fantastic," Rosenior told Hull Live. "I keep talking about Brighton, and that's because I was there for a long time and I understand what it takes (to be successful), they're doing it and so are Manchester City. Their model (Brighton) is incredible. We signed Yuriel Celi - the Peruvian player, and this shows the level that we want to get to, it shows the ambition of this football club.
"It's a journey, we're not there yet but it's a process and it's the same for me and this football team. We're looking to attain to being a real force in English football, and the only person we can really thank for that is Acun.
"It's a massive talent pool (in Ireland). You look at the GB rules now in terms of recruitment and what you need to do to get players in, and what's really important to us is that we've found a club in Dundalk, that have similar values and footballing identity.
"There's no point us playing in a certain way and Dundalk not playing in that way. Everything is aligned, there's a lot of thought and planning that's gone into that."
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