How Hull City fought off transfer interest from Basle and Besiktas to land Jaden Philogene
Hull City forked out a hefty transfer fee to sign Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa on deadline day
Hull City fought off transfer interest from “over 10 clubs” to land highly-rated winger Jaden Philogene, according to vice-chairman Tan Kesler. The 21-year-old joined the Tigers on deadline-day from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £5m.
England youth international Philogene, who has previously spent time on loan at Stoke City and Cardiff City, penned a three-year contract, with the option of a fourth. He had been a long-time transfer target for City head coach Liam Rosenior.
Kesler told BBC Humberside Sport: “Jaden received over 10 offers, half of them international. Some clubs like Basle, Besiktas and Championship clubs.
“It made the competition very difficult for us but he chose us a month and a half ago. We were very confident that there were no problems.
Kesler confirmed Villa have inserted a buy-back clause as part of the deal. “We are establishing certain partnerships (with clubs) where we have to give them something to create win-win situations,” he said. “They (Villa) have the right to buy back and hopefully Jaden can develop at that level and we will discuss whether they can buy him back or not.
“Jaden is a brilliant young man. Everyone here believes in him.
“I know that expectation is going to be massive and I want Jaden to take his time to acclimatise to our process. I want our fans to welcome him but make sure that we don’t put too much responsibility on a young man where we see him struggle to deliver it.
“We are going to be patient and our fans should be the same.”
Philogene is expected to be involved in City’s matchday squad for the first time when Rosenior’s team lock horns with Coventry City after the international break
