Aston Villa have confirmed that the club have reached an agreement to sign Chicago Fire striker Jhon Duran.
As per the club’s statement, Duran, 19, is set to make the switch in a permanent move from the MLS side, but the transfer is still subject to a medical, personal terms and work visa requirements.
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Nevertheless, the club are clearly confident that the deal will now go through given the announcement, and so it’s an intriguing and exciting second signing of the January transfer window for Unai Emery, following the arrival of Alex Moreno last week.
Duran has scored eight goals and provided five assists in 27 MLS appearances to date, having made the move to Chicago from Envigado in January 2022.
The Colombian international, who plays as a centre-forward, also has three caps at senior level, and has clearly caught the eye of Villa scouts to convince them over a move to sign him.
According to ESPN, the deal is said to be worth $18m, with an additional $4m in possible bonuses.
It remains to be seen what the plan is with the youngster, in terms of whether or not Emery sees him as an immediate option at his disposal, or if he will be initially loaned out to gain experience at a higher level.
However, he’s a promising talent that Villa are set to sign for a big fee as per the report above, and so it’s hoped that it proves to be a shrewd bit of business both in the short term and long term as we hope to see Duran develop and improve into a top-level forward.
Emery has spoken about wanting to bolster his attacking options this month with a winger, as per Sky Sports, but with Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings at his disposal, he has previously suggested that he’s happy with what he’s got up top having agreed to send Cameron Archer out on loan.
In turn, it will be interesting to hear his reaction to the expected Villa signing and what the plan is with Duran going forward, with the club making a big investment in him.
