Unai Emery firmly believes he could mould Jhon Duran into one of the globe’s finest strikers. This confident claim emanates from inside Aston Villa, where their top recruitment honchos have divulged that they shrugged off a staggering 40 bids for the 20-year-old prodigy over the summer, according to the Mirror.
Colombian talent Duran grew vexed with scant game-time as the campaign progressed, finding himself outshone by Ollie Watkins’ blistering form, relegated to warming the bench. Yet Emery isn’t about to let Duran, snapped up for £15m from Chicago Fire in January the previous year, walk out just yet; he’s set on developing his burgeoning abilities.
Illuminating this intention is Villas president of football operations, Monchi, who expressed: “Unai is very confident with Jhon Duran. Very confident. He thinks he can become one of the best strikers in the world in the next 12 months. He is 100 per cent convinced.”
Monchi added: “So, what is the problem? We also have Ollie Watkins and Duran wants to play. He thinks he is better than Watkins. That is normal because every player thinks he is better than their team-mates. To manage Watkins and Duran is not easy but at the end it is the best for the team. If you have two big strikers it is better than only one.”
Despite Watkins’s current dry spell in front of goal for Villa, Duran has already proven his worth by stepping off the bench to clench the winning goal at West Ham. He then replicated this impact against Leicester City, scoring immediately upon entering the fray.
Damian Vidagany, Villa’s director of football operations who works alongside Monchi, stated: “In every team there are two very, very important positions. Every position is important, of course, but the keeper and the striker are two very specfic positions.
“If you have a great keeper, the second keeper can be as good as he can be – but it’s difficult to change. If you have Ollie Watkins, it’s very difficult to find someone better because he is a great striker, maybe in the top two or three in the Premier League.”
“Ollie is a top professional and high-quality striker. So, did Duran want to leave the club? Yes. That’s normal because he wants to play. There were no fewer than 40 clubs who wanted Duran – because everyone wanted him.
“Jhon Duran is a 20-year-old boy and he knows what we know – that he has huge potential. He can be one of the best strikers in the world…period. Unai is giving him more minutes. And we have spoken to him. He’s training well – and he’s happy.
“If there is one club that really thinks Duran can become one of the best in the world, then that club is Aston Villa and that manager is Unai Emery.”
