Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has spoken glowingly of striker Jhon Duran, as he continues to make an important contribution this season.
The 21-year-old came off the bench to score his 10th goal of the campaign in our 3-2 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek, and those goals have come in 21 appearances across all competitions, while he’s started just four games.
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Beyond his goals though, the Colombian international has shown an improved commitment, maturity and attitude, while he’s become better suited to our system and way of playing from a tactical perspective to be a key cog in the side when involved.
That will undoubtedly be equally as pleasing to Emery as it’s crucial Duran plays his part in the line-up even when he’s not scoring goals, and so it’s hoped that he continues to move in the right direction for the rest of the season as he competes with Ollie Watkins to gain more minutes.
Unsurprisingly, the Villa boss was full of praise for Duran given his influence on our year thus far, and although he conceded that there are more difficult times in his development and an element of impatience, Emery was very positive about the progress being made by his frontman.
“He’s getting better in everything,” Emery told the media, as quoted by BirminghamLive. “I’m very happy with him. I’m always trying to get the best out of him and to focus as well as possible. On the field, we can see him improve. He’s competing with Watkins – sometimes they are together – my idea is to build the team around the players we have.
“Duran, we needed him in the second half in Leipzig, he played fantastically well. We have two fantastic players in Duran and Watkins when both are available. They are intelligent, smart. We want to be tactically strong too – but when we are attacking, I want more of them.
“Duran is young, he came here 23 months ago, the process is ongoing. Sometimes it’s been quicker, other times, more slowly. Last summer, he was injured and didn’t play in pre-season. I’m trying to work with him as a player and a human. I want to speak a lot with him and to understand him. Every game, he gets the chance to show his capacity and potential.
“My expectation of him is so high. He now needs time to build and gain in his capacities at the high level he wants. In terms of his potential, I don’t know exactly where he can finish. But we are working with him to exploit his capacity in the process.
“Being more mature, more responsible and disciplined in the organisation we are trying to set every match on the field. In his process, he is getting better completely. The potential, I don’t know where he is going to finish or to achieve it and when, but he needs time.
“He’s just had his birthday and turned 21. He is young. Of course, he is impatient and wants everything so quick. We are speaking a lot with him – us, the players are trying to support and help him. His commitment and behaviour every day with us is much better.”
With Watkins being a doubt ahead of our clash with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend after coming off at half-time during the week with a knock, it remains to be seen if Duran gets a chance in the Villa XI at the City Ground.
Nevertheless, with a busy schedule ahead over Christmas, we’ll likely have to rotate between the two to keep them fresh and clear of injury, and so as we try to compete across multiple fronts with the Champions League and the start of the FA Cup next month, we’ll need both of our strikers to be in top form as the season goes on.
After all the distractions, antics and negativity over the summer though as he was heavily linked with an exit, it’s certainly refreshing to see Duran on the right track and playing his part in helping us enjoy a successful campaign.