Aston Villa have confirmed that Jaden Philogene-Bidace has signed a contract extension and will spend this season on loan at Cardiff City.
The 20-year-old made his Premier League debut the season before last under Dean Smith, while he enjoyed a brief loan spell at Stoke City last year as he continues his development having impressed at youth level for Villa previously.
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With competition for places fierce under Steven Gerrard though this season, particularly in the final third, Philogene-Bidace’s playing time would undoubtedly have been severely limited, and so it’s the sensible thing to do for all parties concerned to loan him out.
As per the club’s official site, the winger has put pen to paper on a contract extension and has also now joined Cardiff on loan where he will hope for a prominent role, to get regular playing time and ultimately to improve his game and continue his development towards being a first-team presence at Villa.
While that’s a smart decision from the club and the one that makes most sense for Philogene-Bidace at this stage of his career, it is also a real boost that he has penned a contract extension to commit his future to the club moving forward.
There is undoubtedly a long-term plan at Villa under Gerrard beyond this season, and he’ll be looking for his players to buy into that and be a major part of our progression.
Philogene-Bidace has certainly shown quality, but this is the right thing to do for him in the short term, and it’s a show of faith from both sides in many ways that the club have offered him a new deal before he heads out to show that he’s got a big future ahead of him.