Aston Villa could finally see an end to a long-running transfer saga in the near future as a player is set to tell Unai Emery he has decided which club he ‘wants to move to’.
Unai Emery will want to focus his efforts both on and off the pitch on getting his Aston Villa squad ready for a season in which they will compete in the Champions League.
So far, that work has seen six players brought in, with Everton’s Amadou Onana set to imminently become the seventh.
That has been balanced out by the sales of Douglas Luiz, Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam, although those sales were necessary in order to comply with Premier League spending rules.
Despite the 30th June PSR deadline passing, Villa could be set to make another big money sale shortly, with Jhon Duran continuing to push for a move and reports the want-away Colombian has chosen his preferred destination.
Jhon Duran set to tell Unai Emery he wants West Ham transfer
The speculation surrounding Duran’s future has been constant since January.
That is due to the fact Chelsea launched a surprise bid for the 20-year-old striker in the winter transfer market.
With Duran the only alternative to Ollie Watkins, Villa refused the sale and what has followed has been months of Duran very publicly pining for a move away.
Villa are now in a position that they are willing to sell for the right price given they have more time to secure a replacement and how unsettling this saga has been.
However, it now looks as though it will be West Ham and not Chelsea that Duran will demand Villa allow him to join.
That is according to The Mirror journalist James Nursery, who has posted on ‘X’: ‘Expecting Jhon Duran to this week tell Aston Villa he wants to move to West Ham. Villa asking for £40m.
Hammers getting close after 3 bids. Chelsea and Newcastle also interested in striker but Duran wants to play for fellow Spanish speaker Lopetegui who can offer first team football’.
Aston Villa may have already identified free Duran replacement
£40 million would represent a very good fee for a player Villa signed in January 2023 for £18 million and who has scored just five Premier League goals.
Duran clearly has enormous potential but Emery cannot allow the youngster to continue to disrupt his squad and to recoup a sizeable fee to reinvest into improving the side appears to be the best solution.
It may be the case that the £40 million fee is not spent directly on a Duran replacement, though, as Villa may well be set to make a striker signing for free.
That is because the Villans have been linked with a move to Kelechi Iheanacho, the 27-year-old striker who is a free agent following the expiration of his Leicester city contract.
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The fact the 55-cap Nigeria international has Premier League experience, will be happy to play second fiddle to Watkins, and is free makes him a really attractive proposition and could help Villa fans soon forget about Duran.
