"Very bizarre" - Jaden Philogene claim made amid surprise Barcelona, Hull City news | OneFootball

Jaden Philogene has been linked with a shock move to FC Barcelona

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Since the opening of the transfer window two weeks ago, the main focus surrounding Hull City has been regarding the potential departure of their prized assets.

Chairman Acun Ilicali has previously vented his frustration regarding the limitations when it comes to the finances he can inject over the course of a season, meaning that some of the Tigers' star names may have to depart to aid Tim Walter's first window in the English game.

Turkish playmaker Ozan Tufan was the first to leave the club, with City garnering a reported £1.7m fee for the 29-year-old.

Meanwhile, talks remain ongoing regarding where both Jacob Greaves and Jaden Philogene will be playing their football come the first game of the Championship season on August 10th.

Despite only moving from Aston Villa to East Yorkshire on last summer's Deadline Day, interest in the 22-year-old has been concrete from a number of sides for some time now, given the string of performance and calibre of his end product in Black and Amber.

This then led to a surprise link on Tuesday morning which stated that Spanish and European giants FC Barcelona have pinpointed the winger as a 'plan B' after failing to land Hansi Flick's prime wide target, Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams, as a result of limitations through La Liga's financial regulations.

Therefore, the report from Spanish news outlet, Revelo, claims that the Catalan side are looking at pursuing an initial loan deal for the City man, with an option to acquire his services next summer, having been believed to have already made contact with the hierarchy at the MKM Stadium.

However, a permanent deal in 12 months could be made complicated if City were to return to the top flight for the first time since 2017, as Villa hold a £15m buyback clause which only activates when the two clubs are in the same division.

As the links are no doubt a shock to many, FLW's Hull City fan pundit, Ant Northgraves, has also issued his verdict on this potential saga.

"The Jaden Philogene to Barcelona link was a very bizarre one which came out of nowhere, really," he began. "As gifted and talented a winger as Philogene is, I'm not quite sure he's up to Barcelona's standard just yet."

"Listen, if they're going to pay a large sum of money, they can take him. But, realistically, I can't see us loaning him to Barcelona for the year because it leaves us no better off money wise. Why would we lose one of our best players for free and recoup nothing for him? It just doesn't make sense unless they were paying a large loan fee initially with an obligation to buy for a big amount of money next summer," Northgraves continued.

"I can't see it happening. I think the club would laugh away an approach for a loan. I think it would have to be a 'you're buying him now or not having him' scenario, because, as I say, in terms of us being able to replace him and spend money on assembling a side that can challenge for the top six again, we need to be recouping as much money as we can for Jaden Philogene."

He concluded: "I don't think the loan to Barça would make much sense. But, if they're going to pay £25-30m for him, then they can come and talk."

Further interest in Jaden Philogene

Given the impressive season under Liam Rosenior last term, it's no surprise that Philogene has been linked with a plethora of sides higher up the footballing pyramid than City, who fell three points short of the play-offs last term.

Tottenham Hotspur were initially said to be plotting a move for the four-time England U21 international back in February, alongside Crystal Palace.

However, since the aforementioned shock link with a move to Spain, Spurs' interest has only intensified as they have joined West Ham United and the newly-promoted duo of Ipswich Town and Southampton in this particular race.

Hull City must continue to hold firm in Jaden Philogene stance

Ilicali has previously revealed that he wouldn't entertain an offer of £30m for one of the club's highly-valued stars, which makes it seem rather unlikely that a minimal loan fee would satisfy the Turk and his colleague, Tan Kesler.

However, given the fact the chairman has since gone on record regarding finances, the goalposts may have slightly moved in that regard. But, the Tigers should stand firm and not bow down to the clubs expressing an interest just because of their stature in the game.

Of course, Barcelona's interest will be a problem when it comes to persuading Philogene to stay, but as Northgraves references, a deal should only be given the green light if it sees a major cash influx and profit on the reported £5m deal last summer come Ilicali's way to aid Walter's summer rebuild.