Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran has been the subject of a lot of talk and speculation this summer, but could he now be set to stay at the club?
Since joining us in January 2023, the 20-year-old Colombian international has scored eight goals in 49 appearances, including some memorable finishes and important contributions.
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However, he has struggled to entirely convince when given opportunities beyond those goals, and his lack of playing time behind Ollie Watkins seemingly triggered his antics on social media and comments to reporters in Colombia over the summer.
Those developments all raised serious doubts over his future at Villa, but after failing to agree a deal to sell him, with West Ham Utd touted as the most interested party, Duran returned to Bodymoor Heath for pre-season training last week and is seemingly being reintegrated back into the squad.
As seen in the image below, it also now appears as though the talented young striker has been given the No.9 squad number based on his training kit, having been without a number last week when he came back from his extended break following his international exploits with Colombia at the Copa America, while previously wearing No.24 last year.
Time will tell if that now signals that he will remain with us, or possibly if a satisfactory late offer comes in, whether or not Villa would still be willing to offload him and perhaps use that fee to fund our moves for further reinforcements this summer.
However, with the new Premier League season upon us, Duran may now have an important role to play in the early weeks of the campaign at least, and so if he has been given a fresh start and a clean slate, it’s hoped he does his best to repair the damage he’s done to the backing from many fans and perhaps even from his own teammates.
If Emery has indeed now decided that following all the developments over the summer, that it benefits Villa to keep him in the squad and he believes that he can still unlock Duran’s full potential, hopefully the Colombian forward will get his head down, work hard and repay that faith with an important impact when called upon.
The Villa boss did hint that would be the case when speaking to the media during our pre-season tour in the USA, and so it perhaps shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.
It’s a crucial decision though for Villa, as the indications from Emery and other senior officials this week has been that we’ll only sign more players in this transfer window if we can offload players first. In turn, Duran staying could mean we don’t move for any additional attacking reinforcements, and so it’s arguably a gamble from Emery to make that choice.
No one is better placed than the Villa boss to make that decision though, and it’s hoped that whatever is decided, ultimately proves to be the best choice for us moving forward to ensure we build on last season and continue to progress in the upcoming campaign.
Happy to give Duran another chance or were his antics over the summer too much?
Jhon Duran x No.9
Had a lot to say earlier this summer and social media antics didn’t help. After failing to agree a deal to sell him though, could he now be given a fresh start and another chance?
If Unai Emery feels that’s the right choice for us now and he still believes he… pic.twitter.com/j4QTgi1m4E
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) August 14, 2024
He’s got bags of potential and he can be a game changer for us, but he has to realise he’s not a nailed on starter (yet), even with the number 9 shirt. The off field stuff has let him down.
He young, and he now has the opportunity to play in the Champions League and work under one of the best coaches in Europe. He’d be crazy to pass that learning experience up, as if he keeps his head down and works hard he’ll get his chance.
There’s talk we’re looking at the 19 ear old Colombian defender Yeimar Mosquera, so Duran may have someone to bounce off in the coming days.
Elsewhere, Archer has done well since returning in pre season, and you’d have to think he’d love to be in the position Duran is in.
Why is this guy still here? No Felix either! “He’s fallin’ out with his manager”. “He’s a real hand full off the field” Aren’t there sane players available? We deserve better. UTV