Jhon Duran has been crying out for starts at Aston Villa and Unai Emery gave him his wish on Tuesday night.
Aston Villa narrowly beat League One side Wycombe to book their ticket into the next round of the League Cup.
Unai Emery made a host of changes, with several young guns given a start, and summer signings offered the chance to prove themselves.
Emi Buendia was made captain after his return from injury and he opened the scoring with a deft header in the second half after a frustrating opening 45 minutes.
Wycombe continued to push and probe, before Aston Villa were awarded a penalty late on and it was duly dispatched by Duran.
Given that the home side scored a stoppage-time goal, Duran’s effort from the spot was yet another winning goal from the 20-year-old.
In that sense, it’s all smiles for the hard-hitting striker, but his overall performance against a team in England’s third-tier perhaps tells another story.
It’s all good being the ‘super sub’ from the bench, but it’s a different kettle of fish altogether when you are asked to start and produce the goods.
Gareth Ainsworth was unsure about what he saw from Duran as a starter and stated that he ‘didn’t deliver’ like he has been doing from the bench.
The former Wycombe boss questioned how Duran prefers to play and how he seems to want to do things differently to Ollie Watkins, as he told Sky Sports Football (24/09/24 at 10:10 pm).
Either way, it’s a big learning curve for the player, and despite scoring, he was handed a brutal verdict for his performance at Wycombe.
Jhon Duran criticised after starting for Aston Villa against Wycombe
“It’s a tough decision for the referee (penalty award), and with that speed and no VAR, the positive is that he stuck the penalty away and kept that magnificent (scoring) ratio going,” said Ainsworth.
“He is starting a game, for me, he probably didn’t deliver as much as he has promised in the substitute appearances that he has promised.
“But getting the penalty, the way he did, and then sticking it home, is a positive for him. He’s a real threat in behind, but does he want to play that way sometimes? Ollie Watkins, without a shadow of a doubt, he relies on his pace. But does Jhon Duran want to be the big man when it comes into him and he lays it off, then gets on the end of things. Or does he know he can turn and get at people?”
Ollie Watkins is still the main guy for Unai Emery
Aston Villa have a huge game coming up against Bayern Munich and you can bet your bottom dollar Watkins will be starting that match.
The same applies to Villa’s weekend clash against Ipswich and their home tie against Manchester United before the international break.
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You can’t see Duran starting games yet in the Premier League or Europe, plus, why would you want to fix something that’s not broken, in regards to him scoring from the bench again and again?
There has been talk about Duran and Watkins playing together, but once again, you probably have to wait a while before that happens.
