According to a report by Florian Plettenberg, La Liga giants FC Barcelona have tabled an offer for Hull City winger, Jaden Philogene.
Barcelona want to strengthen their left wing before the 2024/25 season kicks off and in a bid to do so, they have approached Hull City to try and sign Philogene on a one-year loan deal. As per Plettenberg, the loan deal will have an obligation to buy which is supposed to be in the region of €20-23 million.
Who is the Hull City winger?
The 22-year-old joined Hull City just last summer from Aston Villa for a fee of about €6 million and his contract with the club expires in 2026 with an option to add one more year.
He is primarily a left-winger but can also play as a left-sided and a right-sided midfielder and this season, he has scored 12 goals along with 6 assists in 32 appearances for Hull City.
Philogene is a product of Villa’s youth system and his current market value stands at €15 million which means Hull City stand a chance of making a sizeable €5-8 million profit in just two years.
What kind of a player is Jaden Philogene?
Philogene has shone during his loan spell with Cardiff City and a couple of months ago, he was being linked with North London side Tottenham Hotspur. Now, his time with Hull City seems to have caught the attention of Barcelona as well.
His versatility is one of his strongest aspects, plus he is very skilful and loves tackling. However, winning aerial duels is not one of his strongest suits but he did have an 83% passing accuracy while stringing together 769 successful passes.
The 22-year-old had an xG of 8.24 from 40 shots on target and he also created 52 chances in 2809 minutes of Championship football.
How will he fit into Barcelona’s squad?
Barcelona have been linked with world-class wingers like Nico Williams and Luis Diaz and one of them should come into Hansi Flick’s side before the window shuts down. The Catalans are doing all they can to bring in the necessary amount to be able to fund one of their transfers.
However, Barca wish to bring in the Hull City winger because Flick will also need an adequate backup but the club does not have the money to sign two big-name players for the same position. He can also play as a midfield and since Deco might have to sell one or two of his midfielders in order to raise money, Jaden can also play backup in the middle of the pitch.
Signing Jaden Philogene on a loan deal will make perfect sense and even if he doesn’t come good, Barcelona can afford to pay €20-23 million one year later instead of splashing that same amount of money this summer.
