Whenever Jaden Philogene’s name came into the conversation between Aston Villa’s ‘triangle of power’, Unai Emery expressed regret.
Emery, director of football Damian Vidagany and Monchi, Villa’s president of football operations, share an office split into three rooms. They spend long periods with one another and, over breakfast, conversations can be wide-ranging.
Last season, they spoke about Philogene’s progress at Hull City. Villa sold him in the summer of 2023 for £5million ($6.1m at current rates), yet crucially inserted a buy-back clause and matching rights in the deal.
This meant Villa kept a close eye on him and it took little to maintain their attention. The 22-year-old sparkled at Hull, evolving from a young, drifting winger to one who put up concrete goal-involvement numbers and appeared more assured on the pitch. His audacious goal against Rotherham United, admittedly assisted by a deflection, was nominated for the Puskas Award and underlined the transformation.
A FIFA Puskás Award nominee 😍
Congratulations, Jaden Philogene! 👏#EFL | @HullCity pic.twitter.com/EAU0PebFSj
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) November 29, 2024
Philogene scored 12 goals in 32 games for Hull as they finished seventh in the Championship, three points adrift of the play-offs. He worked most days on his own after training, refining his crossing technique and creativity in one-on-ones, becoming the risk-taking attacker he and Emery wanted him to be.
He had trickery and deftness and although quiet and reserved off the pitch, he was supremely confident on it.
Emery would ask Monchi and Vidagany whether they had made a mistake in letting Philogene go. The plan after a promising 2023 pre-season had been for the academy graduate to be part of the squad, coming on in the opening day Premier League fixture away to Newcastle United of the 2023-24 campaign.
It was Philogene, however, who viewed regular minutes as paramount. He did not feel comfortable with a bit-part role and wanted to be somewhere he felt trusted to start each week. Villa struggled to move Bertrand Traore off the books which pressed the need to sell the winger. Emery would later sympathise and, with his homegrown registration helping to ease fears around profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and count as pure bookable profit (along with Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey, who were also sold), Villa sanctioned his deadline-day departure.
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Nonetheless, in a PSR climate, Villa had to maximise selling opportunities early, with he and Omari Kellyman, who left for Chelsea in a £19million deal a year later, name-checked as players Emery had wanted to keep.
Still, those circumstances did not stop a feeling of regret. Villa observed and waited while several clubs, in the Premier League and abroad, held conversations with his representatives during the final months of the season when it became clear he would leave if Hull were not promoted.
Ipswich Town pressed ahead and agreed an £18million deal. Although personal terms were finalised, the player was still open to being swayed. The thought of returning to Villa, at the time, felt like water under the bridge and did not carry huge attraction, initially. Everton and West Ham United were interested too.
Ipswich’s firmer attempts signalled the juncture for Villa to play their trump card. Villa sources said they could not risk the embarrassment of seeing Philogene flourish in the Premier League, having first sold him and then decided against buying him back. So they matched Ipswich’s £18m offer, with the total fee being discounted by 30 per cent, given the sell-on clause figure they had inserted in his initial contract and worked out at £12.6m. Within a week of Ipswich’s bid, Philogene had rejoined Villa on a five-year contract.
As it transpired, discussions with Emery proved a deciding factor. Similar to the conversations held a year earlier, the Spaniard outlined ways for Philogene to play more, creating a pathway into his system. The fact Villa were going to be playing in the Champions League shifted Philogene’s mind.
And despite an injury-disrupted start back in the Midlands, those hopes were fulfilled. Philogene’s best display in a Villa shirt came against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Philogene stood out in the second tier at Hull (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Philogene chiefly impressed from a defensive standpoint, nullifying the threat of left-back Alphonso Davies. His performance provided internal satisfaction. The player wore a wide grin leaving Villa Park.
“I found out I was starting yesterday,” he told The Athletic. “He (Emery) pulled me into the office. He asked how I was feeling. I said, ‘Yeah, I feel fine’ and he said, ‘Good, because you’re starting tomorrow’. There were no nerves. I just wanted to play football. Unai just told me to play my game and gave me instructions.”
Three months later, that famous night proved to be an anomaly. Trust in Philogene to not only start games but feature at all dissipated. The winger appeared inhibited and safe in his decision-making, in contrast to the daring guile of last season.
“He has potential,” said Emery in last week’s press conference. “He didn’t show his potential in the first six months of being here with us. My conversation with him is to be patient and take time. The adaptation is going slower than we want and the transfer window could be one option.”
Regular, niggling injuries complicated matters. He missed nine games at a period when Leon Bailey, Villa’s only other winger, had been toiling through injury and form.
His final omission against Leicester City raised the most doubt, however. While Philogene was nursing a minor back injury, Villa were increasingly open to allowing him to depart and multiple sources admitted the situation would be assessed over the next week. It was likelier he would be allowed to leave on loan, but a permanent move was not dismissed.
The decision-makers met Philogene’s representatives on Saturday evening, following Villa’s 2-1 victory against Leicester. This altered the situation, with a permanent move, rather than a straightforward loan, becoming a possibility. Philogene had received enquiries from Premier League sides, such as Everton and Ipswich, who were open to signing the England youth international permanently.
Ipswich were the firmest in their overtures again and Philogene was comfortable in making the move to Portman Road this time.
Last Wednesday evening, they struck a deal with Villa for a fee worth £20million plus £3m in add-ons. Philogene’s medical was scheduled for the following morning. Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna had talked with Philogene in the summer and did once again to convince him. The fee represented a profit on the discounted £18m Villa paid for him the summer — cut by 30 per cent and worked out at £12.6m.
European sides had expressed an interest in taking Philogene on loan and regardless of his difficulties, Emery remained reluctant to let him go, fearing he would share the same regret as he did previously. Ultimately, though, there was an acceptance he was not what the team needed at that stage. If Philogene expressed a desire for a fresh slate entirely, Villa would consider it.
Emery watching Philogene in pre-season (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Prioritising game time is the priority and he has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at Ipswich.
Unlike Jhon Duran, who expressed frustration at his lack of minutes, Philogene has far greater competition for places. It has been remarked to The Athletic that while Duran only had one player (Ollie Watkins) ahead of him, in Philogene’s position — on the left or right wing — Villa are well stocked. As well as Bailey, Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Buendia, John McGinn and now Donyell Malen, can all operate in a similar area of the pitch.
Malen’s arrival paved the way for Philogene, who had his Ipswich medical the week before, to complete his move.
Emery has stressed the need to be intelligent in this window and, in reality, this means manoeuvring financially. Philogene was a victim of this, representing an asset that could be moved on for an excellent fee.
No decision has been made on whether to recall another winger in Samuel Iling-Junior from his loan at Bologna. Philogene helps with pure bookable profit yet Villa will lose an academy talent needed for their Champions League homegrown quota.
The past 18 months have seen Philogene leave, return and leave again. It has been an unsettling period for a player who developed favourably at Hull but lost his way back at Villa.
(Top photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
