It hasn’t all been plain sailing following the appointment of new head coach Unai Emery, but Aston Villa have finally developed a bit of a backbone again during his so far brief period with us.
Aston Villa can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Chicago Fire for the permanent transfer of 19-year-old striker, Jhon Durán.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 16, 2023
We saw the worst of us against Stevenage, and whilst we didn’t see the best of us against Leeds United (it was a pathetic performance in reality) it showed we had spirit, fight, a stronger underbelly and most importantly, tactics – actual tactics that didn’t involve someone’s penchant for throwing people under a bus because he couldn’t organise a lunchbox.
We are clearly in need of some player overhaul, and that has begun with the arrival of Alex Moreno and Monday, the club confirmed we had signed Jhon Duran in a total £18 million deal from MLS side Chicago Fire.
The 19-year-old Colombian international is very highly rated indeed, and having joined the US league back in January 2022, his first season with them saw him score eight goals and provide a further six assists in only 28 games.
For those who might not know, back in 2020, he was named in the Guardian’s ’60 of the best young talents in the world’ list and he was only 16 at the point.
Described as a forward and winger, it’s being reported that given the overall potential price tag, he comes in as direct competition (despite his age and experience) for Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings, but personal terms are not yet agreed so we shouldn’t necessarily expect him to feature immediately.
Two positions down that needed strengthening (especially after Cameron Archer’s loan), so which one next?
