Philogene was thought to want more minutes as he continued his rapid progress, and it didn’t look to be in the West Midlands, with Aston Villa open to his permanent departure.
The kid came through the club’s academy after joining five years ago and went on to score 22 goals in 42 outings for the youth sides.He has been out on loan to get first-team experience, with his most recent spell away from Villa Park coming last season at Championship side Cardiff City, where he scored five goals and provided one assist in 39 games.
When he returned to the Villans, he appeared in all three of the club’s pre-season games during their tour of the United States.
However, his new deal at the MKM Stadium does come with strings attached and one which Emery and the Villans could very well be interested in exploiting after recent form.
Soon after Philogene’s arrival, Hull City Vice Chairman Tan Kesler disclosed [Yahoo Sport, 23 September] that if the team is promoted next season, Aston Villa have a £15 million buy-back option if they want him back.If we are promoted, Villa will have the option to repurchase him for £15 million,” Kesler explained.”If we received another offer worth more than £15 million, we would have the right to discuss it.” We’re not obligated to sell to Villa, but they’d have first dibs.
“That’s part of our agreement.”
Since his summer move, the 21-year-old has genuinely discovered himself again, reaching new heights as Hull City sit only a point outside the Championship play-off spots after 11 games.
In six starts, Philogene has one goal and three assists [SofaScore], demonstrating why he was so highly rated at Villa Park and why Aston Villa felt it was vital to include the clause in his contract.
So far this season, the Bodymoor Heath graduate has produced three huge chances, exceeding his expected assists (xA) total of 1.35, averaging 1.5 crucial passes per game, 2.8 tackles, and successfully completing 70% of his dribbles. [SofaScore]
And on his international debut for the England Under-21s, the 21-year-old sensation bagged two goals and an assist as the European Champions triumphed in a 9-1 thrashing of the Serbia Under-21s on Thursday night. In his 69 minutes on the pitch, Philogene registered two key passes, won seven of his total duels and completed two of his dribbles whilst registering three goal contributions in a sensational individual showing. It may be too soon for Aston Villa to trigger the option in his current contract at Hull City but given his spectacular form right now plus more crucially, Villa’s lack of specialist out-an-out wingers in the team, it won’t be a surprise to see Philogene-Bidace make a homecoming return to Villa Park.
Who knows, he might not have totally cleared his locker at Bodymoor Heath.
In other Aston Villa news, the club may threaten to end a behind-the-scenes transaction sooner than expected.
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