Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has dropped a significant hint that Jaden Philogene is indeed set to leave the club imminently.
The 22-year-old was re-signed last summer after impressing at Hull City, but it hasn’t gone to plan so far this season as he has played a limited role.
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Philogene has made just 15 appearances across all competitions, failing to contribute either a goal or an assist in those outings, as although he’s displayed good work ethic and desire to help the team in the role that Emery has asked of him, the quality and confidence sadly hasn’t been there as he hasn’t been able to express himself and provide us with a much-needed threat in the final third when involved.
With Villa looking to push on and compete at the top level, there is a sense that we can upgrade in that department, and that looks as though where this situation is heading.
As reported by Fabrizio Romano, Philogene is said to have undergone his medical at Ipswich Town on Thursday morning, as he looks set to complete a transfer worth £22m plus add-ons.
With the deal seemingly at an advanced stage, Emery has all-but confirmed that the talented winger is on his way out of the club and essentially believes it’s best for all concerned, while Villa will continue to work on bringing in reinforcements this month to strengthen his squad.
“I believe in Jaden Philogene, but we are, of course, always trying to get the best for the club, for the squad, the team, and the players,” he told the media, as per VillaTV. “If he is leaving, it is because it is good for those three options.
“The club is working [in January, more generally].”
Given the fee involved, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t a good deal from a Villa perspective. Although Philogene is talented and has plenty of potential, it seems as though the fit isn’t quite right with us as he won’t get the consistency in his minutes to settle and show his quality, and so while he can fulfil his potential at Ipswich, we get a significant return which will go towards balancing our books and funding our own moves.
In turn, although it’s not official as of yet, it’s certainly heading that way in light of Emery’s comments, and so it will be interesting to see who arrives to fill that void and provide us with more quality in attack moving forward.