While fighting for a top four Premier League finish, Aston Villa is currently in the Europa Conference League quarterfinals.
It is easy to say that the season has exceeded expectations, but Unai Emery will become a Villa legend if he wins the Conference League trophy and secures a spot in the Champions League for the following season.
Their recent success may be attributed in large part to his astuteness in the transfer market, as he lured players like as Moussa Diaby, Youri Tielemans, and Pau Torres to the team in the previous summer.
But will a choice he made the previous summer come back to haunt him? The 52-year-old let go of a gifted kid who is excelling for his new team.
Jaden Philogene’s statistics for Hull City
The youthful player played for Villa for a total of six games before opting to sign a £5 million deal to Hull City last summer.
Although it appeared to be a win-win situation at first, his play in the second division may have shown Emery let him go too quickly.
Philogene has made 23 appearances for Hull, where the team is now fifth in the Championship after registering six assists and eight goals.
As evidence of how important he has been to Hull’s cause this season, Philogene leads his Hull colleagues in shots on target per game (1.3), successful dribbles per game (2.8), and major opportunities created (five). With 14 goals and 14 assists, he would rank seventh in the current Villa squad.
How Jaden Philogene’s wage compares to Villa squad
The youthful winger and Villa’s record purchase, Diaby, are not too dissimilar. In fact, Philogene’s 14 goal contributions behind the Frenchman’s by only one, as the current Hull star has eight goals in his seven appearances for the Midlands team this season.
Since moving to the Premier League from the Bundesliga nine months ago, the former Bayer Leverkusen winger is being paid £130,000 per week, although his performances have been much below this pay scale.
Conversely, Philogene, who joined from Villa in 2023, is only making £9k a week, which is a startling gap given how similar their offensive production is.
Accordingly, Diaby today makes 14 times as much money as the 22-year-old. May Emery regret sending the young player on so quickly instead of giving him an opportunity in the senior team given how well he performed for Hull?
To lessen the pain, the Spaniard will be able to spend big money on young players in the summer transfer window, but that is not the main goal. There was a really talented player at the club who was calling on him.
Manager Liam Rosenior has praised Philogene for his “ridiculous” talent. He has improved his reputation this season, and if Hull is promoted, he may even return to torment Emery and Villa in the 2024–2025 season.
Without a question, the Championship team has scored a fantastic deal for just £5 million.
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