Winger Jaden Philogene has attracted transfer interest within months of leaving Aston Villa – and he is reportedly on the radar of tonight’s Europa Conference League rivals Ajax. According to the Daily Mail, Philogene – who has shone in the Championship for Hull City this season – has caught the eye of the Dutch giants, who welcome Villa to Amsterdam for the first leg of their last 16 tie on Thursday evening.

Philogene went on pre-season tour with Villa and in Unai Emery is appeared that he had a fan, but – having made a three-minute appearance from the bench on the opening day humbling at Newcastle United – he, like Aaron Ramsey and Cameron Archer who found moves within the Premier League, was granted a permanent move away. At Hull, he has thrived and, to date, has contributed to 14 of the Tigers’ goals in the league this term.

That form has supposedly drawn admiring glances from other clubs including Ajax, who recruited Jordan Henderson in the winter transfer window after he left the Saudi Pro League. They are, however, struggling in the Eredivisie this term – Ajax are a massive 27 points off league leaders PSV Eindhoven and, right now, they’re at risk of missing out on European football of any kind next season.

Philogene, who joined both Stoke City and Cardiff City on loan during his time at Villa, made just six first-team appearances for Villa and was handed a single start, that coming in the 6-0 hammering of Barrow in the EFL Cup in the summer of 2021. The 22-year-old has grasped his opportunity afforded to him by Liam Rosenior, however, and he is now considered to be one of the most dangerous attackers in the second tier.

Villa could yet, however, have a say in what Philogene does next and where his career lies if and when he leaves the MKM Stadium in future; it was confirmed by Tigers vice-chairman Tan Kesler earlier this season that the Lions had inserted a buy-back clause in the agreement with Hull when they struck a deal, worth around £5m, in the summer for the transfer of Philogene.

It means that Villa, in the event that Hull get promoted to the Premier League in the future – and they have a viable chance this season of doing so – can re-sign Philogene for a fixed fee of £15m, a deal that can only be struck when both sides are in the same division. In the meantime, Villa have first refusal and Hull have peace of mind.

“It’s pretty simple,” he tells Hull Live. “The buy-back clause can be interpreted negatively or very positively. If the player is yours and you feel you don’t have the right to control it all the way along (through the contract) but you can also look at being able to get that kind of talented player you create a win-win situation, and share certain rights so that you can get it done and beat the competition.

“What we did in my opinion and for our fans to (understand) our decisions for the future, we’re not just buying players and then their previous clubs can buy them back from us, it’s a mechanism where we create a win-win situation.

“There is a value that has been put on an identified performance, which is good. Maybe he can never reach there or he can bypass there, but at least for the market, for the industry, we know what he can be worth to leave our club. If someone comes in and offers less than his buy-back value, do we consider it? Should we consider it? Probably not. It’s a good thing. And having another big club on your side and being able to have some part in Jaden’s development plan is good.