Aston Villa have made a move to re-sign Jaden Philogene from Hull City by activating a matching rights clause they negotiated in the deal that saw him sold to the Championship club last summer.
After Hull received an offer from Ipswich Town worth £18milllion, the 2023 agreement provided Villa with 72 hours to exercise their option.
Villa have chosen to do this and the figure will be reduced by 30 per cent because of a sell-on clause that was also placed in the terms that took Philogene to Hull.
Personal terms were pre-agreed when the 22-year-old winger left Villa for the MKM Stadium.
If Hull receive higher bids from other clubs, Villa must choose whether to remain in the process for a player their manager Unai Emery is now prioritising in this market.
Ipswich continue to pursue Philogene — as do Crystal Palace, Everton and West Ham United.
Philogene was part of Villa’s academy and broke into the first team in 2021. Loan moves to Stoke City and Cardiff City followed before he joined Hull on a permanent deal last summer.
He earned admirers with 12 goals in 32 games for Hull as they finished seventh in the Championship last season, three points adrift of the play-offs.
Philogene scored three goals in four games for England Under-21s during their qualification campaign for the European Championship in 2025.
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