Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Jaden Philogene from Hull City, with the highly-rated attacker returning to the club that he left last year.
Philogene came through the youth system at Villa Park, but he only made six first-team appearances for the club before completing a permanent move to Hull in September 2023.
The 22-year-old starred for the Tigers during the 2023-24 campaign, scoring 12 goals and registering six assists in 32 appearances in all competitions.
There has been a host of speculation surrounding the attacker's future this summer, with Barcelona believed to have considered making a move for him, while Ipswich Town and Everton have been linked with his services.
However, Villa have triggered a clause which allowed them to match any bids that Hull received.
Villa confirm return for highly-rated Philogene
Unai Emery's side are only believed to have paid in the region of £13m for Philogene due to a 30% sell-on clause that was inserted into the deal that took the attacker to Hull.
"Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Jaden Philogene from Hull City. The winger returns to Villa after an impressive campaign with the Tigers in 2023/24," read a statement on the club's official website.
Meanwhile, Philogene said that it is "amazing" to secure a return "home".
"It feels amazing, it's like I'm back at home," he said. "Unai spoke to me face-to-face and we had a very good conversation about my playing time.
"He said I did well when I was here in pre-season last year and that I'm going to get chances this time. It also depends on me and how I play.
Philogene had been linked with Barcelona, Ipswich and Everton
"It's the latest chapter in my Villa journey and hopefully I can play my best, get game time and do it in front of the fans.
"What I did at Hull, I want to do the same things at Villa Park; make the fans aware of my skills and score goals.
"It's a dream come true. When I was a little boy I wanted to play in the Champions League. I've always thought I want to be there one day and here I am."
Philogene made three Premier League appearances during his first spell at Villa, while he spent time out on loan with Stoke City and Cardiff City earlier in this career.
Villa opened their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign with a 3-0 success over Walsall on Wednesday, and they will be back in friendly action against Spartak Trnava on Saturday. body check tags ::
