West Ham have ‘concrete’ interest in Hull forward

Across various platforms this morning, there are reports that we hold a concrete interest in the magnificently named Championship player Jaden Philogene, who is being hailed as the next best thing among left wingers. For a change, here is a report that makes sense for West Ham both tactically and financially.

For starters, the player fits the age demographic that Steiden and Lopetegui seem to seek for this squad rebuild. Philogene is 22 years old and, given his pedigree, he is an experienced under-21 England international.

Secondly, the price: Instead of the enormous figures being thrown around by various ‘sources’ daily for players we obviously can’t afford in our new austerity era, Philogene is quoted at about £13 million by transfermarkt.com. Even allowing for inevitable interest from other clubs, we could afford this price, even if funded from peripheral player sales this summer.

Thirdly, don’t underestimate the importance of Philogene’s homegrown player status. There is always significance in balancing the squad and securing those eight homegrown squad members.

Hull independent website wearehullcity.co.uk describes him as “a direct dribbler and tenacious tackler with fleet-footed trickery and invention – an unpredictable right-footer who plays predominantly on the left but is equally effective on the opposite flank.” Sounds like a good fit for our rebuild then, at an attainable price and homegrown too. Almost as rare as a unicorn: what could go wrong?

Of course, other clubs are listed as ‘interested’ – lofty Barcelona no less, along with Spurs, are ‘keen’ according to footballinsider247, which is where the BBC story originated. So, let’s keep an ear to the ground: if this story gathers pace and comes from other sources, it could be something to get genuinely excited about.