Yahoo News Why Aston Villa sold Barcelona and Everton target Jaden Philogene as real transfer 'mistake' revealed
Jaden Philogene was one of the most exciting players in the Championship last season after leaving Aston Villa for Hull City. As such, summer transfer interest from the likes of Barcelona and Everton should come as no surprise.
The winger was involved with 18 goals in 32 appearances under Liam Rosenior and went viral on social media following the Tigers' win over Rotherham when he directed the ball towards the top corner with a Rabona-style effort.
He had turned heads during Villa’s pre-season tour of the USA to win a place in Unai Emery’s squad, but he wanted guaranteed football last season as it was deemed a crucial period in his development.
So criticism which came Villa’s way for letting Philogene leave was harsh, considering he essentially handed in a transfer request. Villa had just landed Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen and Leon Bailey was playing the best football of his career, so Philogene’s minutes would have been limited.
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Where Villa did make a mistake was letting Philogene leave on the cheap. They agreed a £5m deal with Hull, but the talented 22-year-old is clearly worth at least triple that figure. Villa had the option to re-sign the player for £15m if Hull had won promotion to the Premier League, but they failed to do so, finishing outside of the play-off positions.
However, there would have been a limited market for Philogene if they priced him at more than £10m, considering he had hardly kicked a ball in the top-flight and only spent time out on loan at Stoke and Cardiff without showing this level of form he is now at Hull.
The youngster is in the headlines again amid reported interest in him from Everton and Barca. Our sister site the Liverpool Echo are claiming he is wanted at Goodison Park this summer, while Spanish outlet Relevo have claimed the Catalans have identified Philogene as a Plan B to Nico Williams with a big-money transfer for the Spain international unlikely.
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Explaining his reasons for leaving Villa, the 22-year-old told the Sun: “I needed game time. At my age I can’t just sit on the bench, I need to keep playing and thought this was the best opportunity.
“You must keep working hard and stay in your game — and everything will come from that. The gaffer has helped me a lot here. He tells me to be myself and play my own game, be confident — and it’s working.”
