Barcelona negotiating surprise loan with purchase option deal for 22-year-old Hull City star: Reports
Barcelona are reportedly negotiating a shock loan move with a purchase option for Hull City winger Jaden Philogene. As reported by Relevo (via Barca Times on X), the La Liga giants have set their sights on the Championship sensation.
Philogene enjoyed a stellar season with Hull City last time out, but despite his best efforts, the Tigers finished seventh, missing the playoffs by just three points. The fleet-footed winger scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 32 Championship appearances.
Aged just 22, Philogene is highly regarded and is particularly known for his outstanding technique, dribbling and ability to both create and score. He came through the youth ranks of Aston Villa and earned valuable game time at Stoke City and Cardiff City.
The England under-21 international signed for Hull City permanently last summer in a £5 million deal. However, Aston Villa reportedly have a buyback option on the gifted winger.
Barcelona have been linked with a host of wide players this summer with Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams said to be their priority target. They have also been linked with players like Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.
Given the club's ongoing financial struggles, Philogene could prove to be an affordable option for Barcelona. His age profile makes him perfect for the Blaugrana, although it will be interesting to see whether he manages to impress at a much bigger club.
Barcelona legend opens up on his admiration for Liverpool great
Barcelona icon Cesc Fabregas has admitted that he looked up to ex-Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard while growing up. He also admitted that he wanted to play alongside the former England captain and even had a wallpaper of the midfield dynamo.
The former Arsenal star insisted that he enjoyed Gerrard's initial days when he made his breakthrough into the Liverpool side. The World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain told BBC:
“That’s tough, I had great teammates. I’ll pick one that I played with and one I would have liked to play with. Iniesta because he is a player I understood always. I played some of the best football next to him. Another one is Steven Gerrard. He was someone that I looked up to when I was young. I remember the first time we could watch Premier League in Spain, he was very young and he was stepping into the Liverpool side."
The former Barcelona star added:
"One of the first phones I had when I was young was this Nokia, you could set up your own screen [on it] and I had Gerrard 17 [there] when he was wearing 17 in the beginning. I’ve always said that he is one of the players I would have loved to play with.”
Steven Gerrard initially donned the number 28 jersey before getting the number 17 shirt. However, he later became synonymous with Liverpool's iconic number eight jersey.