Aston Villa have moved to re-sign winger Jaden Philogene as they finalise the exit of £17 million star Philippe Coutinho.
Villa are making a move to bring Philogene back to the club after activating a ‘matching rights’ option agreed in the contract signed when he moved to Hull City last summer.
Ipswich, the Championship runners-up, have made an £18 million bid to sign Philogene and Villa have now triggered the option to sign him back.
Philogene is understood to have already agreed salary terms and contract length with Villa in the deal when he departed.
The 22-year-old was one of the stars of the Championship last season, scoring 12 goals in 32 games for Hull as the club fell just short of the play-off places.
Ipswich, Everton and Crystal Palace have all targeted the former Villa academy player but he looks destined to rejoin Unai Emery’s squad unless either of the three clubs make a higher offer.
Villa also agreed a 30 per cent sell-on clause during negotiations with Hull, so their deal – if all goes through – will be worth just under £13.5 million.
Coutinho, meanwhile, is heading for the exit with a loan move to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama.
The former Barcelona and Liverpool midfielder has been determined to leave Villa this summer but his huge wages of around £125,000-a-week have complicated negotiations.
Coutinho began his career with Vasco’s academy and they are putting the finishing touches to a transfer which will be for the remainder of their current season.
Signed from Barcelona permanently by former Villa manager Steven Gerrard in May 2022, after an initial six-month loan, Coutinho spent last season at Qatari club Al-Duhail.