Aston Villa look silly amid January update for ace with £83.9m release clause
Aston Villa fans have made themselves look silly with the release clause set for Jaden Philogene in the summer.
The 22-year-old returned to Villa Park in July after departing for Hull City just 12 months before but has failed to impress under Unai Emery.
As a result, there is little surprise to see the Villans be willing to let the England Under-21 international leave this winter amid interest from Ipswich Town.
Fabrizio Romano has now given his trademark “Here we go” (9 January) on a switch to the Tractor Boys for the winger in a deal worth £22million.
This deal will ultimately leave the B6 club with egg on their face, given how much hope they had in Philogene in the summer.
Aston Villa make themselves look silly with Jaden Philogene deal
There was plenty of excitement and expectation when the tricky forward returned to Villa Park in the summer after a terrific season in the Championship.
With 12 goals in 32 appearances for Hull, there was reason to believe that the Englishman had picked up plenty of experience and improved in the second tier.
As a result, the Villans moved to re-sign the winger and even entered a release clause close to £83.9m into his contract [Fabrizio Romano].
Considering the potential that the ex-Cardiff City loanee had shown, this wasn’t necessarily a crazy idea and was useful to protect the West Midlands club from any potential future sales.
Regardless of this, the Villans have been made to look silly by the failure of the signing, especially given that Philogene looks set to leave for £61.9m less than his release clause.
There won’t be many supporters disappointed to see the winger depart and will always remember his performance against Bayern Munich but £22m appears to be a fee too good to turn down.
In other Aston Villa news, goalkeeper exit talks have now begun with a former club.
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