Former Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane has been talking about the club’s transfer business this summer before naming a player he believes is ‘really promising’.
Unai Emery had little time to relax this summer as he bids to get his Aston Villa squad ready for a campaign in which they will compete in the Champions League.
There has been a combination of hard work both in the transfer market and on the training pitch, with Amadou Onana the most recent of seven signings already this summer.
Villa are also two from two in pre-season wins having beaten both Walsall and Spartak Trvana before heading to the US to continue their preparations for the new season.
Conor Hourihane played 151 games for the Villans so knows what it takes to be a success at Villa Park and has revealed a signing he backs to make his mark.
Conor Hourihane believes Jaden Philogene is a ‘really good’ signing
Hourihane spent four-and-a-half years at Villa before moving to Derby County at the end of his contract in 2022.
A fan favourite for his all action displays and helping the club to promotion via the Championship play-offs in 2019, Hourihane has been confirmed to be a regular guest on the 1874 Aston Villa podcast across the next few months.
In his first appearance on the podcast, the 33-year-old spoke on a number of topics, including Villa’s summer business.
Hourihane revealed he believes Jaden Philogene could be a really good signing, as he said: “He’s gone away and played some games and been effective.
“He looks like a really promising player, you know, he’s learning and playing games. Gaining more experience has obviously helped him and he did really really well last year in the Championship, so it’s going to be really interesting to see how he goes.”
The former Villa midfielder went on to add the caveat that Philogene is yet to perform at the highest level, saying: “He’s going to get games with the amount of games that Villa are going to have, but it’s going to be a big step up from the Championship to the Champions League for Jaden.
“There’s no doubt he’ll be involved in in games and it’ll be interesting to see how he develops but there’s definitely a really really good player in there.”
Philogene will be keen to make an impact after Aston Villa return
Philogene’s return to Villa just one year after being sold is an intriguing one.
Emery was well aware of the talents of Philogene but could not provide him assurances around first-team football so sanctioned the £5 million sale to Hull City.
- READ MORE: Jaden Philogene trait will excite Aston Villa fans and show exactly why Unai Emery signed him
However, this deal included a number of clauses which suggested Villa were keen to have their say in the 22-year-old’s future.
That is exactly what happened, as Villa sprung into action to match an £18 million bid from Ipswich Town and secure a return to the Midlands for Philogene.
Having been allowed to leave once, Philogene will now be determined to show Emery he has made the right decision to bring him back.
18 goal contributions in 32 Championship games last season shows he has the ability to do that, so it is now down to the player to rise to the step up in level.
