Acun Illicali, the owner of Hull City, addressed rumours that West Ham United was interested in Jaden Philogene during the summer transfer window live on talkSPORT.
Along with Premier League opponents and European powerhouse Barcelona, the Hammers are reportedly among numerous teams interested in signing the 22-year-old winger this summer [Daily Mail, 28 June].
In response to a question on the Irons’ interest from talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, Illicali said that he will not obstruct Philogene, despite his insistence that he has assured Hull supporters he won’t trade his top players this summer.
At 12:46 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2, Crook posed the following question on talkSPORT: “How important is it to hold onto Jaden Philogene in order to succeed?
“Is it true that Barcelona would like to sign him? We know that Everton and West Ham are also interested in him?”
“Yes, everything is true,” Illicali retorted, “but if you ask me, I told our fans that I would sell nobody.” Creating a larger and more powerful team is my goal in football, not making money.
“To build a larger team, it’s a different situation sometimes when a player says he wants to leave. While I do not believe that a single player move will spell doom for any of my teammates, IOn Tuesday, July 2, at 12:46 p.m., Crook asked on talkSPORT: “How vital is it to hang onto Jaden Philogene in order to be more successful?
“We know about interest from Everton and West Ham as well, is it true that Barcelona would like to sign him?”
Illicali responded: “Yes, everything is true but if you ask me, I told our fans that I would sell nobody. My idea in football is not to make money, my idea in football is to make a strong and bigger club.
“To make a bigger club, sometimes if a player says I want to go, that’s a different case. For me, one player change is not the end of the world, but for any of my players, I never want to ruin their career or their mood by pushing them because of the contract that I have.
“In that case, if Jaden wants to move and he says he wants to go somewhere, this is not something that we can do too much because it is his life. I love all my boys, so I’m responsible for their career as well so they don’t need to play with us if they don’t want to play with us.”
In light of Hull City’s leaving rumours, will West Ham United sign Jaden Philogene during the summer transfer window?
While Hull clearly doesn’t want to lose one of their brightest talents this summer, it is clear from Illicali’s response to Crook that he is already beginning to accept that Philogene may well be on his way this summer.
This season, the 22-year-old was bound to attract Premier League attention, particularly when he scored a potentially season-defining goal against Rotherham with a rabona that Micah Richards called “ridiculous” [Hull Daily Mail, 16 February].
The Irons may use one or two more players to try and bolster Julen Lopetegui’s assault, especially since the Brazilian is still a rookie in England. Luis Guilherme moved to the London Stadium this summer.
The Hammers ought to do every effort to win the race if they can manage to outsmart Barcelona and sign Philogene this summer. He and players like Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus might really transform the game.
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