After all the speculation and antics over the summer, Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran is continuing to focus on the most important thing, and that’s making a positive contribution for us.
The 20-year-old was at the centre of a lot of talk in recent months, and at stages, it looked highly likely that he would be leaving us to join a Premier League rival.
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While that ultimately didn’t materialise, there was a focus on how he would apply himself and become an important part of the squad moving forward, and the signs thus far are all very positive.
After coming off the bench to score our winner at West Ham Utd in our Premier League season opener, Duran repeated the trick against Leicester City this weekend as his goal eventually proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Aside from his impact on the pitch though, he looks as integrated and settled as ever when we see his interactions with his teammates in training, and so it’s hoped that he really has turned a corner and is ready to fulfil his undoubted potential in a Villa shirt.
“Always we speak about his potential and the most important [thing] is that he focuses and he has consistency with us,” Emery told the media at his post-match press conference. “When he arrived in pre-season, he was focusing to stay with us. He has trained well and he has started playing against West Ham, last week and today. He is having chances and scoring.
“He is focused. I didn’t need to speak a lot with him about his future because I watched him focusing here in training. He is playing as well doing what we were planning. He is scoring goals which is fantastic. The squad we have now, I am happy.”
Emery reiterated multiple times in his comments that Duran looks focused, but one of the other key points he made was about consistency.
That’s the real test for the Colombian international now, as while Ollie Watkins will continue to be first choice up front, we will enter a pivotal part of our season when the international break concludes as we begin our Champions League campaign.
With a packed fixture schedule that sees us play five games between September 14 and 29, as we’ll also have the Carabao Cup to contend with, Duran will get his opportunities both off the bench and as a starter, and it’s imperative that he builds on this positive start and shows he can not only score consistently, but also shows Emery his ability to adapt and execute the instructions and game-plan that he is given effectively on a consistent basis.
We saw Duran struggle with that last season, as although he scored some important goals, he was also replaced at half-time in some outings, due to the fact that he wasn’t giving Emery what he wanted in the final third as part of the collective performance.
In turn, that’s the test that still lies ahead for the Villa forward, and so it’s hoped that the optimism and positivity surrounding him now is a consistent theme throughout the campaign. We’ve seen what he’s capable of and Emery constantly emphasises his potential and the importance of adapting to fulfil that potential under him, as his faith and desire to get the best of Duran has never wavered, not publicly at least.
Villa have ultimately got one of the top young attacking talents in Europe in Duran, given what he is producing at times at the top level in the Premier League, but his challenge, Emery’s challenge and that of his teammates, is to continue to get the most out of that talent and leave a lasting mark on our season as we target further progress and success this year.
Come for the goal, stay for the away end celebration 😍 pic.twitter.com/TO2PqMw17H
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 31, 2024
