Aston Villa have now been warned that they could be about to offload one key player for the future.
Unai Emery and Monchi have navigated the summer transfer window expertly so far at Aston Villa, with plenty of movement yet to come.
The Villans had to ease their PSR concerns before anything else this summer, seeing the likes of Douglas Luiz and Omari Kellyman exit for profit.
As well as Luiz, Emery lost another key player in the form of Moussa Diaby, with another first-teamer’s exit now on the horizon.
Aston Villa warned about selling Jhon Duran this summer
The future of Jhon Duran at Villa is in doubt as the Colombian has made himself a bit of an enemy in B6.
From being open about his love for Chelsea on social media to recently making a West Ham gesture on Instagram Live, the 20-year-old’s immaturities have reached a point of no return.
Speaking about the matter of Duran’s disrespectful behaviour, journalist John Townley warned that the striker’s behaviour may have denied Villa the chance to unearth their next Ollie Watkins, via the Claret and Blue podcast.
“The progress he’s [Duran]made in 18 months from where he was to where he is now, if he does that again, wow. He’d be competing with Watkins genuinely.
“It’s a shame because he’d be a natural heir to Ollie Watkins in three years maybe, he’d be 23. What strikers hit it off at the age of 22-23 in the Premier League?
“I can’t think of many that haven’t then gone on to be top players, so Duran’s progression has been there, I don’t think it’s been guided correctly.”
Townley’s closing statement rings the truest, as the Villa expert shared a frustration that will be shared by most at Villa, with Duran’s guidance being extremely poor at this point in his career.
How do Villa replace Duran?
As far as natural finishers go, Duran is up there with one of the most instinctual players in front of goal at Villa.
The 20-year-old showed that last season, where he maintained a conversion rate of 25%, recording a scoring frequency of 101 minutes, via Sofascore.
It’s a real shame and an alarming issue that Villa must resolve this summer, as the club are at a point of no return with Duran following his behaviour amid transfer links.
It’s clear that the Colombia international wants to be the main man and that is not an option at Villa, as Watkins’ claim to the starting XI is untouchable.
That being said, it’s also a devastating reality for the Midlands club, who are about to lose arguably one of the hottest goal-scoring prospects in the Premier League, by no fault of their own.
Now, Emery and Monchi have the painful task of replacing the 20-year-old, who is a reliable finisher with an incredibly high ceiling, a profile that will be near-impossible to replace with the understanding that a starting spot is not on the cards.
Duran has the perfect opportunity to explode at Villa but the forward’s poor guidance has led him to the end of the road at Villa Park.
