Steve Morison hit rare Cardiff City transfer jackpot - he’s now rated at £50m | OneFootball

Jaden Philogene spent the 2022/23 season on loan with Cardiff City and was integral to their Championship survival

Jaden Philogene has cemented himself as one of the best players currently in the EFL Championship with Ipswich Town, but his performances for Cardiff City in the 2022/23 season helped to keep the Bluebirds afloat and truly got the ball rolling in the winger's senior career.

With Ipswich Town, Jaden Philogene has established himself as one of the Championship's most outstanding players, consistently putting in excellent performances off the left flank for Kieran McKenna's side.

Though his journey to this point wasn't straightforward, with the Aston Villa youth product playing for numerous clubs before shining at Portman Road.

Once courted by the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, and Barcelona as a youngster, the winger had his first taste of Championship football with Stoke City in the second half of the 2021/22 season, scoring once in 11 league outings for the Potters.

Cardiff City saw enough to bring him to the Welsh capital for the following season, where, although he was far from the player he now is, his performances on the wing in Wales showed a glimpse of what was to come, much to the benefit of Cardiff.

Jaden Philogene spent the 2022/23 season on loan with Cardiff City

Ahead of joining Cardiff on loan for the season, then Bluebirds boss Steve Morison said: "I’m really happy. He’s someone we earmarked and looked at in January, but it wasn’t meant to be.

"Villa want to keep him on because they like him, so if he’s good enough for them, he’s good enough for us. It’s great for our depth, and great for competition.

"I’m excited with the wide players we have at our disposal now, and I think everyone else should be as well."

In his first start for the club, Philogene scored the only goal in Cardiff's 1-0 home win over Birmingham City, and although he would struggle to carry on putting up the desired numbers, his trickery and flair from the wing dazzled many Bluebirds supporters. Philogene grew into the side as the campaign unfolded, transforming from a peripheral member of the squad under Mark Hudson to Cardiff's dynamic, all-action lynchpin up and down the right-side - occasionally as a wing-back - once Sabri Lamouchi took the job.

The former England youth international had to compete with the likes of Rubin Colwill, Mark Harris, Sheyi Ojo, and Gavin Whyte for a place on the wing across the season, and struggled to nail down a consistent place in the starting lineup prior to Lamouchi's appointment, but came alive when it mattered most and provided crucial goals alongside moments of sheer genius which will long remain in the memory.

He would net three more times in the second tier for Cardiff, two in crucial wins over Rotherham United and Bristol City, as well as their 3-2 home defeat to bitter rivals Swansea City.

Philogene would end the season with four goals and one assist in the league for Cardiff in 37 appearances, with just 25 of those being starts, as the Bluebirds avoided the drop by five points.

Although he didn't put up the numbers we now associate with him, his time in Cardiff was instrumental to his development, allowing him to adjust to the second tier level and to become the player he is today. The eye test always carries weight, too, and anybody who watched Philogene in action at times that year will know just how much of a joy to watch he proved to be.

He eventually emerged as one of very few good signings from a mass summer rebuild sanctioned by Morison and Cardiff certainly would not be the last team to strike gold with Philogene.

Jaden Philogene is now one of the Championship's standout performers with Ipswich Town and is rated at £50 million

It's fair to say that Philogene has come on leaps and bounds since his loan spell with Cardiff.

He would sign for Hull on a permanent deal the following summer, where he really had his breakthrough season, scoring 12 and assisting six in 32 Championship games for the Tigers, prompting Villa to re-sign him the following year.

The 23-year-old would struggle for game time upon his return to Villa Park, and would join Ipswich for £20 million in January 2025, where FLW's Tractor Boys fan pundit, Adam, rated him as a £50 million player.

With Ipswich on the hunt for an immediate return to the Premier League, it's fair to suggest that it would cost a fortune to tempt him away from Suffolk at this current stage.

Currently one of the standout players in the second tier with Ipswich, his loan spell with Cardiff was one of the best moves he will make in his career, as, although he didn't put up good numbers, his time in the Welsh capital allowed him to get comfortable in the second tier and provided him with the platform to flourish elsewhere.