Aston Villa have reportedly exercised an option to potentially re-sign Jaden Philogene from Hull City this summer.
The 22-year-old impressed at youth level for Villa before making a positive impression on Unai Emery during our pre-season schedule last summer.
READ MORE: Top Villa prospect set for loan exit to gain valuable experience
That in turn suggested that he might be retained and given a chance to play an important part in our campaign last year, but ultimately the decision was made to sell him to Hull as he wanted regular first-team football, something that couldn’t be guaranteed at Villa.
Philogene bagged 12 goals and six assists in 33 appearances last season for the Championship outfit, and has continued to build on his potential and talent, and that has now led to speculation and increased interest in acquiring his services.
According to The Athletic, Ipswich Town have made an offer worth £18m for the attacking ace, but Villa have since exercised an option that allows us to match that offer, while it will be reduced by 30 percent as agreed in a sell-on clause.
Further, it’s added that personal terms were already agreed before he left last year, and Emery is said to be prioritising him in this market as the Villa boss has evidently been left impressed by his ongoing development.
There is no guarantee that Philogene will return to Villa at this stage though, as firstly he must want the move back over his other options, while Ipswich, and with Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham Utd all said to be interested, could make a higher offer to Hull which in turn would force Villa to decide whether or not to match it again.
With Emiliano Buendia and Jacob Ramsey returning from injury, Morgan Rogers and Moussa Diaby looking to build on their debut seasons with us and other options being available who are capable of playing out wide, it’s an interesting decision from Villa if it’s with the intention to integrate Philogene into the senior squad.
Given what we’ve seen from him thus far, there’s little doubt over his talent and potential moving forward, and so time will tell if we’ll see him have a second go at being a key player for Villa, or if he’ll move elsewhere in the Premier League this summer.
