Opinion: Rotherham United should make loan approach to Hull City amid £5 million Aston Villa deal | OneFootball

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Hull City are a club that are very much looking like they will have an incredibly exciting squad when the transfer window slams shut on September 1st - at least they will do on the attacking end of things.

There are big ambitions for the Tigers and there has been ever since Turkish media mogul Acun Ilicali's January 2022 takeover - his first managerial appointment in Shota Arveladze didn't exactly work out as planned but Liam Rosenior returned to the club as head coach last year and things are on the up.

Ilicali has already invested plenty of his personal wealth into the club on players from all across the world and after a 15th-placed finish in 2022-23, there was a need to strengthen Rosenior's hand.

Xavier Simons, Jason Lokilo, and Aaron Connolly have signed permanently whilst the loan additions of Liam Delap, Ruben Vinagre, and Scott Twine have got the pulses racing at the MKM Stadium.

Twine in particular has excited the fanbase upon his arrival from Burnley, and he adds to the likes of Delap, Connolly, Lokilo, Oscar Estupinan, Ozan Tufan, Adama Traore, and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh as options in the final third for Rosenior.

There is more to come though as City are set to pull off a sensational double swoop with many reports, including Hull Live, claiming that a double deal is close for Aston Villa duo Keinan Davis and Jaden Philogene.

The Athletic claim that Philogene would cost Hull £5 million and a buy-back clause would be inserted, with Davis costing £1 million on the basis that Hull Live say that a double deal would be £6 million.

Philogene, who impressed for Villa in their pre-season fixtures in the USA against Premier League clubs, would be a significant coup and a major outlay for Hull, but his addition would surely put the short-term future of Harry Vaughan into question.

Who is Harry Vaughan?

A product of the Oldham Athletic youth academy, Vaughan played 39 times for the Latics as a youngster and spent time on loan further down the non-league pyramid with Radcliffe in December 2022 - one month later though he signed for the Tigers and was inserted into their under-21's initially.

The 19-year-old, who can play as an attacking midfielder or as a winger, was in senior squads before long though under Rosenior and made his debut for the club against Blackburn Rovers back in April - it didn't take him long to make an impact either as a cross in his second match against Swansea was turned into his own net by Ben Cabango.

Vaughan's impressive five appearances were rewarded over the summer with a new contract and he started in the opening match of the season against Norwich, but the arrival of Philogene, as well as the addition of Twine and the presence of Sayyadmanesh and Lokilo as well as Turkey international Dogukan Sinik means that it's unlikely the Ireland under-21 international will get regular game-time despite his showings.

It could be of interest to Hull though to loan Vaughan to League One or potentially even to a Championship rival to give him more regular experience of the level, and a team that could benefit from Vaughan's skillset is Rotherham United.

Why should Rotherham try to sign Harry Vaughan?

Millers boss Matt Taylor likes to switch from a back three wing-back system to a 4-3-3 depending on the match he finds himself in, meaning Rotherham need wide players with a bit of guile.

United lost Chiedozie Ogbene to Luton Town in the summer on a free transfer which was a major blow, but Fred Onyedinma and Andre Green have both arrived to add a bit more pace and trickery to their ranks.

Looking at their squad though in their defeat to Sunderland on Saturday, Rotherham are thin on the ground and had to play Hakeem Odoffin out wide in a front three, and whilst he got on the scoresheet he is a midfielder and not a winger. On top of that, the Millers are facing a nervous wait over Odoffin after he limped off against Sunderland.

Taylor's lack of options in those areas mean that if he went for Vaughan, who has pace and trickery in abundance, he would no doubt get plenty of minutes and there would be fewer options to battle with than there are at the MKM Stadium.

With experience as an attacking midfielder as well for Oldham, Vaughan could play in the attacking midfield two in Taylor's 3-4-2-1 formation as well when he chooses to utilise that.