Aston Villa have reportedly received a request for information from Al Hilal for Jhon Duran amid ongoing speculation over his future.
The 20-year-old has been heavily linked with an exit this summer, and recently welcomed interest and shared his hope for a move publicly as his off-the-pitch antics continue.
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Having scored eight goals in 49 appearances for Villa since his arrival from Chicago Fire in 2023, Duran has been limited to a bit-part role behind Ollie Watkins but has remained an important alternative option for Unai Emery when he has needed to rotate or add a different dynamic to our attack.
The Colombian international has scored some important goals and is undoubtedly talented with great potential, but as he continues to raise question marks over his attitude and professionalism, an exit may well be the best outcome for all concerned as it will likely also fund our push to continue to strengthen the squad with better suited options for Emery.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Al Hilal have requested information for Duran as well as other potential transfer targets, and so it remains to be seen if that expression of interest turns into something more tangible for a move to Saudi Arabia for the Villa forward to become a more realistic option.
That said, Romano adds in his tweet that Duran wants to join West Ham Utd, but with the two clubs unable to reach an agreement on a transfer package as of yet, time will tell if there will be a breakthrough in those talks or not for him to get his move to London.
From a Villa perspective, while it’s becoming seemingly clear that we are open to allowing him to leave, the touted interest from Al Hilal will hopefully spur West Ham into action to raise their proposal and meet Villa’s demands to get a deal over the line.
If not, perhaps Duran will have to consider a lucrative move to Al Hilal rather than continue at Villa as back-up behind Watkins and potentially others, with Emery and his team appearing to be struggling to get through to the talented youngster both on and off the pitch for him to excel with this fantastic opportunity in front of him at Villa.
