Fresh Ipswich Town, Aston Villa developments will stir further Hull City regret | OneFootball

The Tractor Boys will now have a trio of Hull's former stars on their books

Last season saw Hull City finish in their highest league position for seven years, although it wasn't good enough to match the club's well-documented ambitions.

A seventh-place finish also wasn't enough to save the job of former head coach Liam Rosenior, who was dismissed days after a final day defeat to relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle, largely down to disagreements with owner, Acun Ilicali.

Whether the Tigers underachieved in the 40-year-old's final season in East Yorkshire is a debate which, at times, continues to rumble on, despite the fact Hull are now two head coaches down the line following the recent appointment of Ruben Selles.

In what is the Spaniard's first transfer window at the MKM Stadium, developments surrounding an approach for Aston Villa's Louie Barry have drawn comparisons with former Tiger, Jaden Philogene.

However, fresh goings-on involving City's former winger, who enjoyed a fine season at the MKM Stadium, once again involving Ipswich Town, will only intensify a sense of regret for the Championship side.

After mixed loan spells with Stoke City and Cardiff City, there was a mass of hype surrounding the Villa winger in the summer of 2023, particularly after featuring in the US-based 'Summer Series' in pre-season, as well as being named on the bench for the opening day of the season against Newcastle United.

However, Hull were able to land what had become a customary high-profile deal under the ownership of Acun Ilicali, landing the winger's signature for a £5m fee on a three-year deal, although a sell-on and buy-back clause would be inserted - more on that later!

It was clear almost instantly that the versatile forward would become a key figure in Black and Amber, proven by a run of three goals and four assists between September 24th and October 28th, ending with a spectacular solo finish against Preston North End.

The England youth international would then earn headlines for a nonchalant backheel which provided one of two strikes in a 4-1 rout against Rotherham United, before the loss of their key asset for a two-month period coincided with the first major run of inconsistent form for the play-off-chasing Tigers.

Upon his return, Philogene walked into a side which would become the fourth-most valuable squad in the division behind Leicester City, Southampton and Leeds United, after the acquisitions of Ryan Giles, Fabio Carvalho and Anass Zaroury in particular.

Many outsiders believed that such transfer dealings, coupled with the winger's return, would give Hull a great chance of ending their Premier League exile through the play-offs, but what transpired meant the season was ultimately deemed a huge failure by a lot of people.

However, Philogene would go on to steal the limelight with a 'Puskas Award' nominee against the Millers with a rabona-style equaliser, before going on to hit a final purple patch in April with four goals in five, ending the season with a tally of 12 goals and six assists in 32 games.

Such numbers and the continued excitement over the London-born man meant it looked nigh-on impossible for City to keep hold of their key asset in the summer, with several clubs, including FC Barcelona, Everton, Crystal Palace and the aforementioned Ipswich, all interested.

It looked as if Philogene was set for a £18m move to Portman Road after agreeing personal terms, before Villa swept under their noses and re-signed their former academy graduate for approximately £13m through the activation of a 'matching-rights' and 30% sell-on clause.

Jaden Philogene set to link-up with former Hull City duo

Whilst the Villa Park support were eager to see if the 22-year-old could replicate his Championship form on his return to B6, the truth of the matter is that Philogene has hardly lived up to those expectations, as well as being a victim of Villa's brand of football under Emery.

Ironically, three of his four starts this campaign have come against Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Chelsea - performing reasonably well in the first two of those, but has failed to register a solitary goal contribution in any competition.

This has led to debates as to whether the winger can cut it at top flight level at this moment in time, with Emery recently admitting : "He played some important matches against Bayern Munich and Manchester United. At that moment he was more or less with the opportunity to show his progress. He didn’t do it clearly and for circumstances he was playing less, but I believe in his potential."

Regardless, attention surrounding the winger hasn't exactly dissipated, and after Everton opened negotiations with Villa over a potential permanent or loan deal, Kieran McKenna's side have taken a leaf out of the West Midlands outfit's book, agreeing terms over a £22m+ deal spanning four-and-a-half years for their long-term target.

This will see Philogene link-up with his former City teammates in the form of Liam Delap and Jacob Greaves, who have both had varying levels of success in their maiden top-flight campaigns.

Delap's direct nature, powerfulness and ball-striking ability has sparked interest from Chelsea and Tottenham amid reports of a £30m buy-back in his deal from Manchester City, with the 21-year-old scoring eight times in 19 appearances, showcasing a variety of goals in that period.

Meanwhile, Greaves, who was signed for £15m+ after four seasons of continued progress on Humberside, including a place in last campaign's Championship Team of the Season, was labelled as a 'rolls-royce' by many after an impressive display on debut against Liverpool in August - winning six duels and making eight clearances against Arne Slot's league leaders.

After starting the first seven games of the campaign, a muscle injury held back the 24-year-old's progress, before featuring in the last three encounters, which included a clean sheet against Chelsea on home turf.

There was already an instance of City fans cursing their luck regarding last season's disappointment when Philogene came on as a second-half substitute for Villa in the 2-2 draw between them and Ipswich in late September.