Hull City should already be looking at Blackpool for Jaden Philogene's successor: View | OneFootball

Hull City have one of the EFL's most exciting talents on their hands in the form of Jaden Philogene, but how long he will remain at the MKM Stadium for is anyone's guess.

The winger, who joined Hull from Aston Villa last summer for £5 million, has been in fine form for the Tigers since his summer arrival, and with Villa having a buyback clause worth £15 million which only becomes active if Hull are promoted to the top flight of English football, the East Riding of Yorkshire club need to be wary of the Midlands outfit.

Tottenham and Aston Villa keen on summer deal for Hull's Philogene

TEAMtalk have exclusively revealed this week though that it is Tottenham Hotspur who are leading the early summer chase for Philogene, who has eight goals and six assists in the Championship so far this season

Whilst Philogene clearly has the talent to play regularly in the Premier League at a number of clubs, both Villa and Spurs already have a wealth of options on their flanks.

The likes of Leon Bailey, Nicolo Zaniolo and Moussa Diaby have all proved their worth at Villa Park this season, whilst Spurs also have options in the shape of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson and Manor Solomon.

Both clubs are chasing Champions League football though, and if they're playing in that competition next season - or in the UEFA Europa League for that matter - then Unai Emery and Ange Postecoglou will feel the need to strengthen their squads in this area to cope with the increased demands.

Hull City should already be eyeing up Blackpool's Karamoko Dembele as Philogene's successor

Hull are in a real battle to win promotion to the Premier League this season, and given the strength of the current top four teams in the Championship, they will find it difficult to win the play-offs if they do finish in the top six - that is despite Philogene, Fabio Carvalho and Anass Zaroury making up a very creative attacking unit.

Should the Tigers remain in the second tier for next season, then it can be expected that the bids they will receive for Philogene will reach the levels that owner Acun Ilicali cannot say no to, and that money could be re-invested into Liam Rosenior's squad.

Of course, a replacement will be needed for Philogene, and it has to be someone that can play on both flanks and is similarly creative - that player in question could be Blackpool's loan wizard Karamoko Dembele.

Blackpool have the best home record in League One this season, picking up 37 points at Bloomfield Road and scoring 38 goals in the process, and their chief entertainer is Dembele, who was signed from Brest in France in the summer.

The 21-year-old become a real fans' favourite among the Seasiders faithful and, with five goals and nine assists in League One, Dembele is making more than just a contribution to their play-off bid, and with the amount of big chances he has created this season for the Lancashire outfit, it's no surprise that Jordan Rhodes has been prolific.

Should Philogene leave Hull, then Dembele would be an ideal replacement.

For Blackpool, he tends to have a free role where he drifts out wide but is deployed as a number 10 - Neil Critchley is flexible with his formations and has demonstrated the ability to either in a 3-5-2 or with two attacking midfielders supporting a lone striker.

Dembele has the ability to play from the right and cut inside on his left foot, and like Philogene he excites the fans, gets them on the edge of their seat and is ready to take his game to the next level after perhaps not delivering on his early promise from his time at Celtic, where many thought he'd be the next big thing.

At Hull under Rosenior, the perfect environment is there for him to do so, and he's already showed big performances against a Premier League club this season.

Dembele caused Nottingham Forest real problems in their third round tie and in the subsequent replay, and he'd no doubt cause other Championship sides if Hull decide to make a move for him to replace Philogene - which is something they should already be looking into.