Mohamed Belloumi: From Hull City to Premier League Star

Mohamed Belloumi is lighting up the Premier League – and his father is in no doubt about where his son should be next.

Not just at Hull City. Not just fighting to stay up. At Manchester City. At Barcelona. At Real Madrid. At Paris Saint-Germain.

That is the level Lakhdar Belloumi believes his son now belongs to.

From injury doubt to Premier League driving force

Hull arrived in the top flight as one of the season’s great unknowns. They have quickly become one of its great stories, and Belloumi sits at the heart of it.

The 24-year-old has started the campaign in blistering form. Two goals at Stamford Bridge dragged the Tigers to a 2-2 draw with Chelsea earlier this month, a statement performance on one of English football’s grandest stages. Across the opening five gameweeks, he has added two assists, his influence already written into Hull’s early surge.

This is not the trajectory many predicted a year ago.

The 2025-26 season was stop-start, scarred by injuries that restricted him to just 25 Championship appearances. When Hull needed him most, though, he delivered: a goal and an assist in the playoff semi-final win over Millwall, a decisive hand in the club’s climb back to the Premier League.

Now, with his body right and his confidence surging, Belloumi has elevated his game again. The reward arrived this month: a first senior call-up for Algeria.

A legend’s verdict: “He deserves a bigger club”

Lakhdar Belloumi is not just a proud father. He is one of Algeria’s greatest footballing figures – 147 caps between 1978 and 1989, two World Cups, and a brief spell in charge of the national team in 2004 and 2005.

He has watched his son’s progress closely. He has also watched the reaction to it.

Speaking to Win Win, he made his stance clear on what comes next for Mohamed.

“All his focus right now is on Hull City. If we receive any major offer, we wouldn’t object to him leaving,” he said.

“With all due respect to Hull City, but at this level, he deserves to play for a bigger club competing for domestic and continental titles, such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille and Manchester City.”

The message is blunt. Hull are the platform. They are not the ceiling.

“We took the criticism in stride”

The journey has not been smooth. The Belloumi name carries weight in Algerian football, and with it came suspicion.

Some critics claimed Mohamed’s opportunities existed only because of who his father was. Lakhdar remembers it all.

“Mohamed dreamed of turning pro, and his goal was to play in Europe,” he explained. “So I told him, ‘Do whatever you want’. We took the criticism he faced during his time in Algeria in stride, as if it were meaningless.

“My son has always strived to achieve his dream, and I think what he’s accomplished now is the best response to all those who criticised him, claiming he was playing solely because of his name.”

The son’s answer has come on the pitch.

“He always tells me, ‘I’ve fulfilled your dream of turning pro, playing abroad, and competing at the highest level’. This is just the beginning, God willing, he’ll continue.”

Carrying the Belloumi name into a new era

The call from Algeria is not just a personal milestone. It is a continuation of a family story.

“Mohamed’s performance with Hull City earned him a spot on the Algerian national team in style,” Lakhdar said. “God willing, he’ll do Algeria proud in upcoming competitions and keep the Belloumi name alive in Arab and world football.”

For now, Hull still hold the keys. Belloumi has three years left on his contract at the MKM Stadium, and the club have no intention of losing one of their most important players.

Their best chance of keeping him? Keep this momentum going.

Hull sit eighth in the Premier League table with eight points from five matches, a start that has shifted the mood from survival anxiety to quiet optimism. If they can turn that into a full season, if they can stay clear of the relegation fight, the conversation around Belloumi might change from “when does he go?” to “how far can he take them?”

For the moment, his attention turns away from Yorkshire. Algeria await, and with them a possible debut for the Desert Warriors in Friday’s opening Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia.

Hull have helped him reach this stage. The question now is whether they can grow quickly enough to keep pace with a player whose own father is already talking about the game’s biggest stages.