Stoke City may always wonder "what if" with Aston Villa agreement - They never saw what Cardiff and Hull did | OneFootball

Joining Stoke City for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign, Jaden Philogene never made the impact he would go on to make elsewhere.

Struggling to break into the Aston Villa side, Jaden Philogene joined Stoke City on loan for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.

Three years on, however, and Stoke will still be left to wonder 'what if' when it comes to the youngster, who went on to become a Championship star with Hull City after a fantastic developmental year at Cardiff City.

Starting just six matches for the Potters, the form of Philogene was a far cry from what was seen in South Wales and then in East Yorkshire.

Jaden Philogene's forgettable Stoke City spell

Philogene joined Stoke in the January 2022 transfer window with the club sitting eighth in the Championship at the time.

"Jaden is clearly a very talented young player who we are delighted has chosen to join us," said then-manager Michael O'Neil, talking to club media. "He is someone we were clearly aware of. He will bring something different to the squad for the second half of the season."

However, in a forgettable spell, Philogene went on to make just 11 appearances at the club, scoring once in that period with six starts to his name.

That goal came in a starring display during Stoke's 3-0 win over Swansea City, which perhaps just earned Philogene a touch of goodwill with Cardiff supporters before he made the move to the Welsh capital the following campaign.

Equally forgettable is the fact that Stoke were interested in bringing the winger back to the club in 2023 after a much more successful loan spell with Cardiff.

At 19 years of age, when he joined Stoke, Philogene was never going to be the finished article. However, Stoke will be frustrated about what was to come for the attacker.

Jaden Philogene went on to become a Championship star

Despite featuring for just over 500 minutes, Philogene had done enough to convince Cardiff City to offer him first-team football.

Landing him for the full season, he got plenty of opportunities in the first team, earning 25 starts and a further 12 substitute appearances in the Championship, scoring four goals and providing one assist.

Philogene's time at Cardiff began slowly and he came under fire for his inconsistent performances and final ball infront of goal during his early months, but he was liberated by the January appointment of Sabri Lamouchi and would become the side's star player under the Frenchman, dazzling supporters with his pace and trickery up and down the right-hand side.

Philogene certainly hadn’t reached his full potential, but he had shown enough to warrant further investigation, and Cardiff knew he might be available on a permanent deal from Villa.

However, the Bluebirds were blocked from paying transfer fees for players under an EFL ruling that coming summer due to a late payment of the transfer fee for Emiliano Sala, who tragically died in the process of signing for Cardiff in 2019.

That same summer Philogene signed a permanent deal with Hull City for a fee of £5m, and the rest is history.

He went on to score 12 goals, one of which was nominated for the Puskas Award in 2024, and he provided six assists in 32 appearances that campaign, adding the end product to his game which had not been quite there with neither Cardiff or Stoke.

He had impressed that much in a Tigers shirt that Villa chose to buy him back again just a year later for £13.5m.

After struggling to break into Aston Villa's starting 11 under Unai Emery last term, Philogene made a big-money switch to Ipswich Town, who were looking to bolster their squad to avoid relegation.

And while the Tractor Boys did eventually succumb to demotion back to the second tier, Philogene is tipped to be one of the club's most important players as they look to bounce back at the first time of asking under Kieran McKenna.

With another opportunity to set the Championship alight this upcoming term, there could well be another reminder for Stoke as to what could have been with Philogene, if this wasn't already the case as a result of his exploits for Cardiff and Hull.