Aston Villa are keen to re-sign Jaden Philogene from Hull City and have activated the matching rights clause after Ipswich Town’s bid.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa want to bring their academy graduate Jaden Philogene back to the club this summer. The Hull City star has attracted a lot of interest from clubs in the Premier League. Newly promoted Ipswich Town have tabled a bid for his services and Unai Emery’s team have decided to activate the option to match the bid.
Philogene made the move to the Championship club last summer in search of regular first-team action. The move has done wonders for the young English winger. He is on the wishlist of multiple top clubs after contributing towards 18 goals (12 goals, 6 assists) last season for the Tigers.
He was a standout performer for them and his consistent display on both flanks have resulted in interest from Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town as well as Spanish giants Barcelona. The Catalan giants are looking to add more quality on the flanks. With Joao Felix returning to his parent club, they desperately need to reinforce their attack and Philogene’s rise has put him on their radar.
Everton and Crystal Palace also want more firepower in attack. They feel the former Villa star could be a great acquisition for the short as well as the long run. The Toffees have only have two proper wingers in their squad and Philogene could just be the right signing for him.
Ipswich Town submit an offer for Philogene
While there significant amount of interest in his services, Ipswich Town who recently secured a promotion to the top flight are considered to be in pole position for his signing. Kieran McKenna wants to ensure there is enough quality in their team to compete at the very top having secure back-to-back promotions.
He is a big admirer of the English youth international and feels he could help them survive in the top flight. They have already tabled a bid for the 22-year-old’s signature. While they seem to be closing in on the signing, Aston Villa have decided to enter the race for their academy graduate.
Villa trigger matching rights clause
They did part ways with him last summer but Unai Emery’s team managed to insert the first refusal clause in his contract. The clause allows the selling club the right to re-sign the player by matching the highest bid for him. While the details of Ipswich’s bid are not yet clear, Romano has confirmed that Villa have activated the clause.
Given the amount of interest in Philogene, there could be more bids incoming and it will be interesting to see if Villa maintain their stance.
