Villa confirm signing of talented youngster in touted £14.75m+ deal

Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire, as Unai Emery has added much-needed firepower to his squad.

Duran, 19, made an impressive impact in MLS with eight goals and five assists in 27 appearances for Chicago, and that in turn led to him earning his first caps at senior level for Colombia last year.

READ MORE: Influential Villa star relishing fresh role under Emery

As per the club’s statement, Villa have now finally officially announced his signing, with ESPN reporting a week ago that an agreement had been reached between the two clubs for an initial fee of $18m [£14.75m], with an additional $4m [£3.3m] in potential bonuses included in the deal.

Given he is still inexperienced at the top level and is developing as a young player, time and patience will undoubtedly be needed for Duran as he adjusts and adapts to life in England and as a Villa player.

Emery spoke to the media about the talented youngster last week and insisted that he is focused on his adaptation and integrating him into the squad, and he is keen to avoid putting too much pressure or responsibility on Duran any time soon.

It’s hoped that the teenager is a long-term solution for us up front to complement Ollie Watkins and provide both competition and a different dynamic in the final third, and there is real excitement over what he can offer given his talent and potential.

Further, with Emery already showing his ability to improve the Villa players at his disposal, it will be fascinating to see how he helps Duran develop and improve his game, and it’s fair to say that he is in safe hands as he looks to make a big impact having sealed a move to the Premier League.

Particularly having sold Danny Ings to West Ham last week, Villa were light up front with a lot of responsibility put on the shoulders of Watkins to fire us up the table and towards Europe.

He now has help in the form of Duran, and while it might take him some time to acclimatise, he certainly looks capable of making an important impact given his physical attributes and the qualities that he has already shown in his young career.

Leave a Reply