While Aston Villa have confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Chicago Fire to sign forward Jhon Duran, additional details of the move have since been reported.
The 19-year-old Colombian international is a highly-rated young talent having scored eight goals and provided five assists in 27 appearances in MLS.
READ MORE: Who is Jhon Duran? Analysis of incoming Villa signing
That was enough to convince Villa to snap him up, with the club’s official statement confirming that an agreement to sign Duran has been reached, and now the move is subject to a medical, agreeing personal terms and work visa requirements.
Fabrizio Romano has since suggested that personal terms have now been agreed and a ‘long term deal’ is in place, and Duran is expected to undergo his medical in Colombia as he is currently on international duty at the South American U20 Championship for the rest of the month.
Unai Emery will no doubt be itching to begin working with the youngster, as he will no doubt have been influential in the decision to sign Duran and will look forward to adding a different profile of striker to his squad to provide an important different option.
Villa have made a significant investment, as ESPN report that the initial fee agreed is $18m [£14.75m], and there could be an additional $4m in performance-related bonuses to take the total fee up to $22m, just over £18m. Further, it’s reported that Chicago Fire will recoup a percentage of any future transfer fee.
With those figures in mind, the expectation is that Duran will be part of the senior Villa squad immediately as opposed to being loaned out or kept in the youth team initially, but time will tell what Emery believes is the best path for his incoming signing to take.
On one hand, it’s an exciting signing of a top prospect who will add power, pace, technical quality, athleticism and an aerial threat in the final third. With his ability to drop deep, run the channels and take on his marker as well as offering a physical presence up top, there is a lot of talent there for Emery to work with and develop.
On the other, Duran is largely untested and unproven at a high level and so as with any transfer, it is a gamble that Villa have taken, particularly with the fee in mind.
Nevertheless, the club wouldn’t have splashed out if they weren’t entirely convinced, and so Duran’s arrival at Bodymoor Heath can’t come soon enough to see him get to work and start making an impact.
Should the move go through as expected with no late hitches, Duran will become our second signing of the January transfer window, following the arrival of Alex Moreno from Real Betis last week.
