Aston Villa sold Jaden Philogene-Bidace last September for just £5m to Hull City after making only six first team appearances for the club.
Was Unai Emery acting too hastily by moving him on for such a low transfer fee? That seems to be the case, especially considering his impressive start to life at Hull.
Jaden Philogene-Bidace's season by numbers
The 22-year-old has certainly showcased his talents in the Championship since arriving last summer, already registering 12 goal contributions in the second tier – seven goals and five assists – but he saved his best for the clash against Rotherham.
The youngster looked like he had scored a stunning rabona effort to equalise, but the goal was cruelly given as an own goal, yet there was no doubting the incredible skill to pull it off in the first place.
If credited, it would be worthy of the Puskas award, yet the Englishman will have to be satisfied with seeing his club win the clash 2-1 instead.
The winger was obviously deemed surplus to requirements at Villa, hence why Emery moved him on, but has the Spaniard signed a player recently who could be an even bigger talent than Philogene?
Morgan Rogers could be better than Philogene-Bidace
Emery shelled out £16m in order to lure Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough during the January transfer window, and it could soon turn out to be a wonderful bargain.
The 21-year-old was previously lauded by Michael Appleton – his former boss at Lincoln City – as being “outstanding” and he has gone from strength to strength over the previous 12 months.
Indeed, when compared to his positional peers, Rogers currently ranks in the top 3% for shot-creating actions (4.28), successful take-ons (2.1) and progressive passes (3.98) per 90 in the men’s next 14 competitions, clearly showcasing his abilities in the final third.
In comparison, Philogene-Bidace currently ranks in the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90 (3.07) when compared to positional peers, while he only ranks in the lowest 13% for progressive passes per 90 (2.36) and the top 38% for shot-creating actions per 90 (4.07), indicating that Rogers has clearly impressed more across the same performance metrics.
Rogers is versatile and can not only operate on both wings with ease, but also either as an attacking midfielder or a centre-forward, and this adaptability was clearly one of the reasons why Emery persisted in securing the services of the youngster.
During the first half of the 2023/24 campaign, the 6 foot 2 sensation not only scored seven goals, but he also grabbed nine assists too, and it shows that he is equally adept at scoring and providing plenty of chances for others.
Aston Villa will regret selling "unreal” ace who's outperformed Diaby
The former Villa ace has been excellent this season.
ByTom LeverFeb 14, 2024
While Philogene-Bidace is enjoying a solid debut campaign for Hull, Rogers certainly looks like he could go on to be an even bigger talent than him over the coming years.
He will now need to break into the Villa starting XI and start showcasing the form which led the Midlands side to lure him to the riches of the Premier League last month.
