Jhon Duran considering bombshell transfer away from Aston Villa and the club he wants is so unexpected
Luke Alfred Davies
3 minutes
Jhon Duran has been linked with a move to a shock club as his future at Aston Villa is uncertain.
Duran, 21, has been in excellent form this season having registered 12 goals in 28 appearances for Unai Emery’s team.
Of course, a starting place in Villa’s side is not guaranteed, with Ollie Watkins seemingly his manager’s go-to forward.
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AS Monaco are in something of a crisis heading into Tuesday night’s Champions League clash against Aston Villa. Despite being in the respectable position of fourth in Ligue 1, Adi Hutter’s side have only won one of their last eight matches in all competitions and that victory came against lower league side Union Saint-Jean in the French Cup. Excluding that routine 4-1 win, Monaco have only claimed victory in one of their last 10. Powered by Their young side hasn’t fully recovered from their last defeat to Benfica at home matchweek five of the Champions League league phase. They were winning 2-1 until goals from Arthur Cabral and then Zeki Amdouni turned the game around in the final stages. READ | Why Ollie Watkins ‘got a bit frustrated’ as striker closes in on Aston Villa history READ | Aston Villa’s dream transfer window as five sign and seven leave in January Then, following a defeat at Marseille and a win over Toulouse in the league, Monaco lost 3-0 at Arsenal in matchweek six. It leaves them 16th in the league phase table, but only three points behind Villa in fifth place. After that loss at the Emirates Stadium, Monaco played out a 0-0 draw with Reims before they suffered defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the league and cup either side of beating Union Saint-Jean. Failure to beat Nantes and then being knocked out of the French Cup via penalties against Reims meant Monaco’s trip to Montpellier was a ‘must win’ to get them back on track. “I think this is the right match to motivate the whole team just before the Champions League,” Mohamed Salisu said before the game. “It is a very important match to get an energy boost and regain confidence in order to best prepare for the match against Aston Villa. We believe in ourselves and we want to take the three points. “We have no doubts, football is about ups and downs depending on the period. We are currently in a bad moment and we have to fight to get back to the top. The season had started very well and we were in good form, we just need to believe in what we are doing on the pitch and listen to the coach’s tactical advice to get back to our level.” But Monaco fell to a shock 2-1 defeat against Jean-Louis Gasset’s Montepellier and Hutter claimed the important match with Villa wasn’t in the minds of his players. Powered by “Today, it’s more than a big disappointment, it’s a real gut punch for us and everyone at the club,” Hutter said after full-time. “At the start of the season, the wins were stacking up, everyone was happy. I have been in professional football for 35 years as a player before and as a coach now. It is not the first time this has happened to me and the main thing I have learned is to stay positive, work on the details and help the team.” Asked if he thought that the Champions League match against Villa could have affected the team’s mentality, Hutter responded: “I don’t think so, I have the feeling that the team was completely focused on this match. You could see that in the first half, we wanted to make the difference quickly but we missed too many chances. In the second half, we wanted to score the second goal but we made an individual error. We then had no right to concede another goal. “We tried to come back after with several chances in the last minutes but it was too little. I have a lot of respect for Montpellier but we needed to impose ourselves to regain confidence. Tuesday will be a completely different match, it’s the Champions League at home, but I don’t think the team already had Aston Villa in mind.” What is your Monaco vs Villa score prediction? Tell us here READ NEXT: Louie Barry makes transfer decision as Aston Villa told he’s ‘ready’ to accept deal Aston Villa transfer news with latest on Garcia and Bade as trio could leave I visited huge new Midland charity shop and wished the previous store never shut down Marks & Spencer has £29.50 ‘best alternative’ to Levi’s that’s £80 cheaper Aston Villa favourite could join Premier League rivals Man City ‘on loan’ Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
January 20, 2025
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As a result, the Colombian has been linked with a potential move away from the Premier League outfit.
On Monday, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported that West Ham had “submitted a bid worth £57m” to sign the forward, which was later rejected.
The Hammers previously showed interest in the player last summer when they bid £30m plus teenage midfielder Lewis Orford – an offer rebuffed by Villa.
However, the report goes on to explain how the Birmingham-based side have “no intention of selling” the 21-year-old in the January transfer window.
Now, another club have joined the race to sign the former Chicago Fire forward.
According to Foot Mercato, Real Madrid have joined PSG in their pursuit of the player.
However, if Duran wants a regular starting spot at the Santiago Bernabeu, this could prove difficult given the fact Kylian Mbappé is Carlo Ancelotti’s preferred striker currently.
Jhon Duran has been linked with a potential transfer (Credit:Getty)
Jhon Duran has been linked with a potential transfer (Credit:Getty)
This comes after The Telegraph reported that Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr are preparing an “official offer” for Duran.
The report suggests that the club – captained by Cristiano Ronaldo – have been considering their options for the second part of the season, as they look to chase Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad at the summit of the league.
Despite the links with a move, Duran is contracted to Villa until 2030 after he recently signed a new contract. Villa reportedly consider the player to be worth around £80m.
Emery, 53, recently admitted that starting Watkins and Duran together is a “challenge”.
“We have to work on it tactically because to play with two strikers, they have to try to help the team as well in our structure offensively and defensively,” he said.
“I tried it before and sometimes it was successful. I think we are going to watch those players together, maybe within a match, and as well I think I can find a solution for them to play in the starting XI together.
“But they have to try to understand their roles.”
Duran will be hoping to feature when Villa are back in action against West Ham at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.
