West Ham are planning to reignite their attempts to sign Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran this January, according to GiveMeSport.
The Hammers were keen to sign the Colombia international in the summer but couldn’t strike a deal with Villa, who were demanding £40m for the striker’s services. The Hammers opted to sign Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund instead, but the German has spent the past two months sidelined with a calf injury.
It is a transfer decision that has so far backfired on Julen Lopetegui and Technical Director Tim Stiedten, as Duran has started the season in sensational form for Unai Emery’s side.
He opened his 24/25 account with the winner off the bench against West Ham on the opening weekend of the season and has followed that up up six more goals for the Villans, including the winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
But despite his goal scoring form and growing reputation as a supersub, GiveMeSport’s report claims the 20-year-old is growing increasingly disgruntled with his lack of opportunities in Emery’s starting XI, especially in the Premier League.
Ollie Watkins remains Aston Villa‘s first choice striker, meaning Duran has had to settle for time off the bench or starts in cup competitions. And while the striker has no doubt made the most of that role so far, it is clear he believes he is earning the right to be the main man moving forward.
Given Fullkrug’s injury issues and the fact Lopetegui is now reliant on Michail Antonio to lead the line, which he is doing in true Antonio fashion at the moment, it is no wonder West Ham are considering another attempt at bringing Duran to London Stadium this winter.
However, it will understandably be a lot harder for the Hammers to strike a deal now that Duran has started the season in such a way. Villa will be reluctant to sacrifice such a talent midway through the season, especially one which has scored so many important goals already. On top of that, Duran signed fresh terms until 2030 at Villa Park earlier this month.
But having only played 437 minutes thus far, Duran may want to be given more assurances by Villa that his importance to Emery’s plans will be reflected in increased playing time during the second half of the season.
Indeed, there is also no guarantee that Duran is even interested in signing for the Hammers now when you consider the start to the season the Hammers have had compared to how his season is going at Villa.
Duran has been scoring in the Premier League and Champions League and will undoubtedly have attracted bigger suitors as a result, so whether he would be willing to swap that for a club likely to be competing in the middle of the Premier League this season remains to be seen.
