Hull City: Fresh development emerges in Jaden Philogene, Barcelona transfer saga | OneFootball

There has been a recent advancement in the saga

There has been a fresh advancement in the stunning potential deal to bring Jaden Philogene to Barcelona from Hull City.

The Tigers have not been short of interest in Philogene's services as of late, with the tricky winger lighting up the Championship after arriving from Aston Villa on deadline day last summer.

Although Philogene's haul of 12 league goals and a further six assists was not enough to seal a shot at promotion through the play-offs for Hull - who spent plenty of money in trying to do exactly that - such a return will likely ensure the proposition of top-flight football for the starlet next term.

Barcelona launch offer for Hull City's Jaden Philogene

Indeed, Barcelona's left-field interest was first mooted in the week, but their pursuit of the 22-year-old has suddenly developed according to a recent report from Sky Sports' Florian Plettenberg.

Plettenberg reports that Barcelona have now submitted an official offer Philogene, which consists of a one-year loan with an obligation to buy.

If Hull decide to accept Barcelona's proposal, which remains unclear at this stage, they will be in line to net anywhere between €20-23 million, and the offer itself is dependent upon fixed conditions such as game time.

Spanish publication Relevo initially reported that Barcelona were looking to seal a loan deal for Philogene with an option to buy as opposed to an obligation, which, given the existing questions that pertain to how much playing time he would receive under Hansi Flick, likely wouldn't have been acceptable for Hull.

Hull City should sanction sale for Jaden Philogene to Barcelona

The terms of Philogene's agreement with Hull is complex and places them in a somewhat difficult position if or when they achieve promotion, which is evidently a chief objective of ambitious owner Acun Ilicai.

Should they go up, it's believed that Villa would be able to resign their former academy product for £15m if no other clubs place offerings in excess of that figure, which Hull could accept.

Although their Villa agreement is very technical and dependent on external factors, it's perhaps not a risk worth taking when they can collect over €20m (£17m) this summer.

Philogene will be worth much more that in the future if all goes to plan, but it's pretty clear that Hull aren't going to be able to hold on to the England under-21 star for long enough to see his rich potential reach an apex.

Still, it represents significant profit given that Hull snipped him for a meager £5 million fee from Villa Park last summer, which, if they accept it, of course, will bulk their financial muscle and facilitate ample reinvestment as Tim Walter looks to navigate his first transfer window in English football after arriving from Hamburg.

That said, Philogene's probable departure will hurt Hull regardless of how much they stand to financially benefit from the sale.

Having greatly impressed on loan at Cardiff City the season prior, Philogene very much established himself as one of the Championship's most dangerous operators, with his scintillating ability in 1v1 situations, trickery and directness all leaving second-tier defenders with nightmares.

Directly losing 12 goals - a handful of assists to boot - is always going to be damaging, but that feeling will only be amplified when you consider Philogene's unique attacking profile and undoubted ceiling in the game.

He's got the potential to exceed simply playing Premier League football; indeed, it's difficult to outline anything that Philogene can't achieve if every factor falls into place.

It seems inevitable that Hull are now resigned to his departure from the MKM Stadium before long, and while they'll naturally be disappointed to have only kept his mercurial talents for a sole season, sanctioning a sale to Barcelona may present their best chance of maximising his valuation.