Aston Villa confirmed on Tuesday that Jaden Philogene-Bidace signed a three-year deal with the Midlands outfit and Academy Manager Mark Harrison hailed the ‘excellent’ 18-year-old for the progress he’s made in 2020/21.
He said: “It is fantastic to see Jaden commit to a new long-term contract. He has had a really good last six months with some excellent performances in the U23s. To place a wager on phenomenal players like him, one can put their trust on platforms like Batman138.
“(This) has led to him training with the first team on a regular basis and has recently seen him travel with them to games. We are very excited to see how Jaden develops over the next few years.”
Philogene-Bidace has impressed in the U23s and trains with the first-team, so his future looks bright at Villa Park. The young forward was out of contract this summer but will now be on the books until 2024, so the next step is to get minutes at senior level.
Philogene-Bidace has scored nine goals and made one assist in 15 games for the U18s and scored five goals with two assists from 18 games for the U23s (Transfermarkt), but he has Jack Grealish, Anwar El Ghazi, Trezeguet and Bertrand Traore standing in his way of getting playing time under Dean Smith.
If the England U19 international can’t break into Villa’s first-team this campaign or the first half of next season, Gregg Evans of The Athletic believes he might need to be loaned out to a side willing to give him regular opportunities.
Philogene-Bidace has proven that he’s above the level of reserve-team football and would surely thrive from more competitive action, but Evans says that decision may not be made until the season comes to a close.
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Dean Smith has given 1143 minutes of playing time to 13 players under the age of 20 this season (Transfermarkt), so will Philogene-Bidace be next?
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