Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran made his debut for the club against Leicester City on Saturday, and the Colombian youngster made a positive first impression albeit in a brief appearance.
As per the Athletic, Villa signed the 19-year-old forward in a deal potentially worth $22m in total last month, as we hope he adapts successfully to life in England and emerges as an important option for Unai Emery.
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While the Villa boss has called for patience and time as he helps develop Duran’s game and oversees his adaptation to the Premier League, given our lack of options up top, there was little time wasted in giving him his first experience in the side.
Albeit he was only on the pitch for eight minutes, Duran had eight touches of the ball in total while producing one successful dribble and winning two of three duels as he tried to give us a spark up top to get us back into the game.
Now, eight minutes is of course not enough time to start making detailed and in-depth analytical assessments, but it was an important first insight into how Duran will fit into the side and what dynamic he’ll add to the Villa attack.
As seen in the video below, the talented youngster looked a handful when involved as he used his strength and speed to break away from players in wide positions on the right wing while also showing his ability to hold up play and bring others into the move.
Naturally, the disappointment of the result against Leicester overshadowed the positives, but seeing Duran make his Villa debut and give us a small glimpse into what he’ll provide in the final third was certainly one of the more memorable moments from the game for the right reasons.
Emery will undoubtedly monitor his progress in training and make the right decision as to how involved he is ready to be at this stage, but with support needed up front to lessen the burden on Ollie Watkins’ shoulders, it’s hoped Duran will be able to step up in the coming months and play a vital role for us.
Again, given the small sample size, it’s too early to make major judgements. However, from what we did see on Saturday, we look to have a confident young player who is prepared to take players on and has the physical characteristics and technical ability to settle into the side and be an important player off the bench initially, and hopefully much, much more before the season is over.
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