Aston Villa confirmed on Tuesday that Jaden Philogene-Bidace signed a new deal and would spend the 2022/23 season on loan at Cardiff City. It’s not a surprise to see the 20-year-old dropping to the Championship to get first-team football, but it is surprising that he was handed a contract extension.
Philogene-Bidace has risen through the youth ranks to the fringes of Villa’s senior squad, scoring nine goals with one assist from 15 games for the U18s and scoring 13 goals with four assists from 27 games for the U23s.
The England U20 international featured five times for Villa’s first-team and grabbed two assists, but he amassed only four minutes of Premier League football last season.
Philogene-Bidace was loaned out midway through the campaign as he was out-of-favour under Steven Gerrard, but his stint at Stoke City didn’t go to plan.
The 20-year-old made 11 appearances from a possible 21 games, scoring just one goal and amassing 537 minutes from a possible 1890, so he didn’t improve his chances of playing for Villa after the loan spell ended.
Given the lack of first-team football at Villa, coupled with his poor loan move to Stoke, Philogene-Bidace probably is fortunate to get a new deal. He now needs to prove it wasn’t a mistake by working hard at Cardiff as Villa are still banking on his potential.
In other news, Keinan Davis could miss start of season due to injury
