Colombia boss Nestor Lorenzo has insisted that he hopes Jhon Duran can break into the Aston Villa starting XI soon in order to play more regularly.
The 19-year-old has been called up for Colombia’s upcoming qualifiers against Uruguay and Ecuador, and he’ll hope that he can continue to make an impact and secure his position in the squad moving forward.
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What will also be key to that though is his ability to impress at Villa, but as expected so far this season, Duran has had a limited role behind Ollie Watkins in leading the line for Unai Emery.
However, in 11 appearances, four of which were starts, he has scored four goals, and he has made a positive impression for the most part to suggest that he can be a reliable option to cover for Watkins as we look to compete on multiple fronts.
Lorenzo though is hopeful that Duran can do more than just provide depth, and has insisted that although he hopes he can be a regular starter soon, he deserves to be playing more.
“When he plays on the right, he is a player you like because he plays inwards more than outwards,” he is quoted as saying by AS. “He is a player who can play in either position eventually.
“At Aston Villa he has a lot of competition, a lot of players in his position and he is not playing as much as he deserves, I hope he becomes a starter soon.”
Particularly with Watkins returning to form prior to the international break with four goals and two assists in his last three Premier League outings, it is going to continue to be difficult for Duran to get more playing time in the league.
Nevertheless, there will be opportunities off the bench and in Europe as we’ve seen already in this campaign, and it’s important he continues to work hard and build that trust with Emery that he can not only score important goals, but is able to adapt to all the other tactical demands being made of him.
Given he’s still so young, there is a lot of improvement and development to come from Duran, and so while it’s understandable that his international coach has made his point above, it’s crucial that he stays patient, works hard and takes his chances when given them to ensure he evolves into a fundamental player for us.
The point that Lorenzo makes about his versatility to play on the right is an interesting one too, as we’ve not yet seen him play in any other role other than as a frontman, and so time will tell if that’s something on Emery’s radar too.
