Jhon Duran joined Aston Villa in January of last year. This season he has taken the Premier League by storm. Coming off the bench to score four times in a total of 232 minutes played over nine games. Overall, this season, he has seven goals in just 437 minutes of action in thirteen appearances. He has started just two games in the period and managed to get himself on the scoresheet on both occasions. Coming off the bench to score various goals under tough circumstances has attracted interest from many top clubs. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Barcelona have been linked with him recently with West Ham being interested in the player since summer.
Jhon Duran seems to be happy at the club. Before the season began there were reports about him being very close to leaving for West Ham. But Aston Villa rejected the £35 million offer by The Hammers and decided to keep Duran. This has paid off for them tremendously as the striker is in the form of his life at the moment. The Colombian recently signed an extension but Villa are reportedly interested in selling him for £75 million.
Let’s talk about how he has played this season and if it will be difficult for Unai Emery to keep the striker happy with a bench role while he keeps on scoring goals.
Jhon Duran is one of the best young strikers in the world
He is scoring goals at a baffling rate and won’t keep up with this level of production forever, but he is showing everyone how good he can be. He started his career at Envigado and was picked up by the Chicago Fire in January 2022. His impressive production to end the season on a high resulted in Aston Villa signing the 20-year-old for £16.5 million.
The things that he offers on the pitch are essential for any team looking for a striker. His movement is very impressive, which compliments his elite finishing. Standing at 185 cm, he is an aerial threat to opposing teams. He was linked to many clubs this summer after not getting a lot of minutes. Emery guaranteed him minutes this season and that played a part in him staying. Jhon Duran was doing things on social media that made it look like he was very close to joining The Hammers. He was linked heavily to West Ham but Villa in a shock move rejected the bid made by them. The move did not take place, but it is reported that West Ham could be back for Jhon Duran.
The Colombian has recently penned a deal that will keep him at Villa Park till 2030. Getting him will require a lot more money this time around, with a lot more top club competing.
Watkins? Duran? or both?
If Jhon Duran can’t stop scoring, what stops him from starting? It’s Ollie Watkins. The English striker is one of the best number nines in the world right now. Last year, he was involved in thirty-two goals in thirty-seven matches in the league. His production in the final third was only bettered by Cole Palmer last season. Watkins also scored a ninetieth-minute winner after coming on in the semi-final of the Euros against Netherlands.
Watkins is the starting number nine for the club and is at the age where you expect his production to be at the highest. This season Unai Emery has substituted Watkins for Jhon Duran very regularly at the sixty-eth minute mark. Even during important moments where the game could swing either way. Both the strikers have been linked to Arsenal and a move away for either him or Duran makes a lot of sense.
The reason behind Emery not starting them together is mainly tactical. Morgan Rogers provides a lot of what the manager deems necessary. To his credit, he has been great this season. Starting the two nines is something that Emery must be focusing on, Villa is lucky to have two top strikers at a time when teams like Arsenal and Madrid can’t find one.
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