caughtoffside
·3 October 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportscaughtoffside
·3 October 2024
Aston Villa have hiked up their asking price for striker Jhon Duran following his stunning goal against Bayern Munich.
After a tough first 18 months following his move from MLS side Chicago Fire, Duran has burst into life as a super sub this season, netting six goals in nine appearances across all competitions, despite only one of those outings coming from the start.
Duran’s latest strike saw him pull off an incredible lob from distance to beat Manuel Neuer, sealing a famous 1-0 home win over six-time European champions Bayern Munich for Aston Villa.
“He’s been on fire and came back with a different mentality for this season,” Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez said of Duran after Wednesday’s memorable Champions League win (via The Telegraph).
“He’s a super-sub and the first time he’s touched the ball he’s lobbed one of the best goalkeepers in history.”
WHAT HAVE WE JUST WITNESSED ? Has Jhon Durán just delivered the moment of the night?! ??? — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 2, 2024
Chelsea have been heavily linked with Duran in recent months and CaughtOffside understands the Blues made enquiries about the Colombia international before he even left Chicago.
However, if the Blues are to sign the 20-year-old anytime soon, it’s going to cost them far more than the £18m Villa paid for him in January 2023 (per BBC Sport).
As reported by TEAMtalk, Villa’s asking price for Duran has now rocketed within the region of £80-100m, with the Midlands club reluctant to sell given his form and the fact that first-choice striker Ollie Watkins has also been linked with a transfer away over the past year.
The January window is still some way off, so for now, Duran must continue to focus on making a difference whenever sees the pitch for Villa, leaving Unai Emery with little choice but to reward him with more starts soon.