West Ham are not giving up in their pursuit of Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
Despite passing up the chance to sign the Colombian in the summer, favouring a move for Niclas Fullkrug instead, the Hammers are still keen on bringing him to east London.
Duran’s form for Villa this season has shown West Ham the error of their ways, with 12 goals in all competitions for Unai Emery’s side, including the winner at London Stadium as Villa beat West Ham 2-1 on the opening weekend of the campaign.
The 21-year-old’s form led him to sign an improved Villa Park contract to 2030 amid increasing interest from a number of clubs across the continent.
But that doesn’t appear to have put West Ham off trying again for his signature, with The Athletic’s David Ornstein reporting on Monday that they have offered a huge £57m to prise him away from the Midlands.
Villa are expected to reject West Ham’s latest approach, with Duran seen as an important member of Emery’s squad and a quality backup to Ollie Watkins.
It’s not yet known if West Ham will increase their offer if this latest approach is knocked back but given the desperation to sign a striker this month, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did.
New Head Coach Graham Potter only has one fully fit striker to hand following long-term injuries to Michail Antonio and Fullkrug, while Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville have also been sidelined of late.
The decision to sign Fullkrug over Duran, who is described as being “a nightmare” with “moments of quality” and “a bit nuts” by Villa captain John McGinn, has already proven to be a monumental error by Tim Stiedten and former boss Julen Lopetegui. The German is now on his second long-term injury of the season and has scored just two goals in 11 first-team outings.
If the Hammers fail to land their long-term interest in Duran, they are still interested in signing Brighton’s Evan Ferguson on loan until the end of the season.