Aston Villa could reportedly see both Keinan Davis and Jaden Philogene leave the club to join Hull City, despite Unai Emery wanting the latter to stay.
Philogene, 21, impressed over pre-season and appeared to have established himself in Emery’s plans for this season given our need for squad depth and competition in every position.
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Conversely, Davis hasn’t been involved with the first-team squad at all for some time now, and so a departure for him would undoubtedly make sense for all concerned at this stage.
According to The Athletic, Hull are closing in on securing the signing of Davis as talks are underway over a permanent move for the 25-year-old forward, although it’s added that personal terms haven’t yet been agreed.
As for Philogene, he is being paired with a £5m switch to the Championship outfit, and interestingly it’s added that while Emery wanted him to stay with the squad this year, it’s the young winger who is keen to move on in his search for consistent playing time.
The report notes that Villa are only interested in a permanent exit for him with a buy-back clause included in any agreement, and that a decision could be made on his future in the next 48 hours.
Ultimately it would be disappointing to see Philogene depart, as it did appear as though he could have played an important role for us this season. That said, we can’t begrudge him for having a desire to have a more prominent role, and that is something that Emery can’t guarantee him given the competition and quality ahead of him in the pecking order.
In turn, if a deal is struck with Hull, it could be the best outcome for all, with Villa receiving a decent fee for a youth product that will help us balance our books, and hopefully create space and financial flexibility to continue to strengthen Emery’s squad with new additions.
Given the number of games we’re hoping to play this season, we are perhaps a bit light in certain areas due to injuries and departures, and so it could be a busy end to the transfer window for the club, especially if we continue to approve of exits even if they are bit-part players.
