Tricky winger Jaden can be City’s lucky 13

JADEN Philogene became Cardiff City’s 13th signing of the summer on Tuesday.

He joined from Aston Villa on a season-long loan deal and will add to the plentiful wing options Steve Morison already has at his disposal ahead of the new campaign.

But what can Bluebirds fans expect from their new signing? Well, we sought the expert insight from the Birmingham Mail’s Villa correspondent Ashley Preece and here is what he had to say...

Q. For the uninitiated, what can Cardiff fans expect from Jaden Philogene? What sort of player is he?

He’s a tricky winger who’s very good in one-v-one situations and capable of chalking up a double-figure assist return for the season ahead. Philogene is very slight but works his socks off, which will be welcome news for the full-back behind him. I think Cardiff fans will really take to him; he has bags of ability and was once courted by RB Leipzig prior to signing a new deal at Villa Park.

Q. I’ve seen you write he has been a standout for Villa at times, can you shed more light on that? Did you expect him to stay?

Yes, last summer, Philogene was by far Villa’s most consistent player. For me, he deserved to start the PL opener against Watford but Dean Smith opted for Anwar El Ghazi instead, with that call backfiring with Villa 3-0 down before rallying back. He was awesome 12 months ago, scoring and assisting freely in Villa’s friendlies. He bagged two assists against Barrow in the Carabao Cup and did well in his late cameo at Chelsea in the following round prior to heading out to Stoke City on loan. In terms of this summer, I did expect a loan deal given the options Villa have ahead of him now. He needs a good 12 months behind him playing regularly before returning to Villa next season as a more complete player, one who’ll be ready to challenge for a starting spot in the PL.

Q. Villa clearly want him to work on aspects of his game before he forces his way into the side, what are they?

It was Dean Smith who finetuned Philogene’s all-round game. The 20-year-old arrived from Villa having been scouted playing for the Pro:Direct Academy in London so he was very raw. He’s been working hard on his end product and defensive work over recent seasons. He’ll still need a little bit of polishing up in terms of what Morison will want from him but, on the whole, Philogene has everything in his locker to be a success at Cardiff.

Q. How did he fare on loan at Stoke City last year? Started off like a house on fire, drawing rave reviews from Stoke’s supporters and his manager, Michael O’Neill. Much to the delight of Cardiff fans, his first goal came against Swansea in a 3-0 win on just his second start. He did, though, miss a month through injury and played just an hour across two appearances before the season concluded.

Q. How high is this guy’s ceiling and why should Cardiff fans be excited about him signing?

He can become a PL regular if he knuckles down, stays injury-free and plays to the level he’s capable of. Philogene will get bums off seats. He could really explode and set the Championship alight this season, he really could.

Q. If possible, can you tell us something about him that Cardiff fans might not know?

Last season’s loan boss Michael O’Neill picked Philogene out for praise, and said: “If you look at Jaden, his physical data against Huddersfield was over 12km, which is outstanding. He was surprised himself because he didn’t realise he had that capacity!”