Dan Bardell believes that Jaden Philogene, who recently signed with Aston Villa, is not a clear substitute for Moussa Diaby because of his ties to Saudi Arabia. The Villans are requesting more than £46 million for the Frenchman from Al Ittihad, according to a report by Fabrizio Romano on July 16. Connections to the Saudi Pro League team emerged when the transfer expert revealed on July 15 that Philogene was scheduled for his physical examination at Bodymoor Heath. The 22-year-old won’t be a like-for-like replacement for Diaby, according to Sky Sports and talkSPORT writer Bardell. “You could look at Philogene coming in as a replacement for Diaby,” Bardell stated in an exclusive statement to Villa News. He and Al-Ittihad have been connected.
“I do look at Diaby and think that he’s more of a number ten for Villa, that’s where he played mainly last season, so I don’t see them being like for like.
“I wouldn’t want to lose Diaby but there becomes a risk that he doesn’t push on next season and this money doesn’t come back around so it’s a tough decision.
“I can see why Villa would be tempted to sell and bring in Philogene but they aren’t necessarily a direct swap.“
Aston Villa to swap Moussa Diaby for Jaden Philogene
The Villans signed the 25-year-old from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record fee just a year ago and he went on to have an up-and-down debut campaign.
After 10 goals across 54 appearances in all competitions [FotMob], it is safe to say the Frenchman had a somewhat positive return.
With that being said, if the Villans can make an instant profit on Diaby then that may be a clever move financially.
This is only made better by being able to bring in Philogene on a cut-price deal due to their matching clause with Hull City.
The England youth international is technically excellent and very skilful which will make him a nightmare for Premier League defences.
