Aston Villa, Everton and Ipswich in transfer waiting game as £18m star makes decision

The transfer saga of Jaden Philogene has taken another twist, according to reports from Hull Live.

Philogene is a wanted man with Aston Villa, Everton and Ipswich Town all making offers to sign the 22-year-old this month. Villa had until Wednesday to take up a matching rights clause they placed on Philogene when they sold him for £5m last summer.

His preference before Villa's interest was a move to Portman Road, but now things have changed. The very club that he chose to depart last summer because he wanted regular game time wants him back, and he could now finally get his chance in the Premier League.

In another twist in what has been an interesting saga over the last week is that Philogene has apparently turned up for Hull's pre-season training camp in Turkey. The Tigers are out in the small town of Riva, and are beginning their week long camp. Philogene wasn't on the initial flight as both he and Jacob Greaves were set for moves away, but the England under-21 international has since made an appearance.

HullLive have added that Ipswich Town remains Philogene's preferred destination as he is faced with a big decision over his future. The Tractor Boys are trying to assemble a squad capable of competing in the Premier League, and are signing some of the best young talents from the Championship to try and do that.

Philogene would be more or less guaranteed first-team football at Ipswich, given his obvious ability. His 12 goals and six assists in 32 games last season shows that he was one of the leading players in the Championship, and he now looks ready to make the step up to play top tier football.

A return to Villa would see Philogene move in to the first-team picture but he might not be a guaranteed starter, which is the single reason why he left Villa Park last summer. Villa have attackers such as Moussa Diaby, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey and John McGinn, so Philogene would have a tough ask of displacing them.

The expansion of the Champions League, along with competing in three domestic competitions in England will mean Unai Emery will need to rotate to keep his squad fresh, and that is where Philogene could get his opportunity. Alternatively, HullLive add that the Humberside club are willing to keep Philogene for the 2024/25 season if an acceptable deal cannot be agreed.

If Aston Villa are successful with a deal for Jaden Philogene, and if it all goes through, the deal will be worth just under £13.5m due to a 30% sell on clause, according to John Percy from the Telegraph.