Aston Villa to make Jhon Duran call v West Ham United after summer transfer links. West Ham United transfer target Jhon Duran will be in the Aston Villa squad to face the Hammers at the London Stadium, according to Unai Emery.
The Hammers get the Premier League season and the Julen Lopetegui era in East London underway against Emery’s Villans on Saturday (17 August) after a very busy summer transfer window. Duran was linked with the Irons while Lopetegui’s side retain an interest in the striker [Alex Crook, 4 August] Villa expect him to stay unless a big transfer offer arrives and he will therefore feature in Emery’s squad.
As quoted by Birmingham Live (16 August) Emery said: “I want to use him and use his potential with us. Hopefully, we will get it.
“We have been speaking a lot with him about his commitment over the whole season, about being focussed, about his development, respect, everything. He is training well, he is in the squad for tomorrow.
“I want to speak with the team and with each individual player about our objectives. Now he is one of those players who I think is with us. He is going to do his best in an Aston Villa shirt and defend us.”
Will Jhon Duran exit Aston Villa amid West Ham transfer rumours?
While the Hammers are understood to remain interested in Duran this summer, it feels unlikely that they will have the funds to get a deal over the line given the business already completed over the last few months.
The striker issue in East London has already been addressed with the addition of Niclas Fullkrug. While the Villa man would offer a different profile at the top end of the field, it would be an expensive deal to pull off.
West Ham United have reportedly submitted several bids for Aston Villa ace Jhon Duran
If the Hammers are to spend that sort of money on a new signing between now and the end of August, it feels as though that money could be better spent elsewhere to add some more depth to Lopetegui’s ranks.
Hopefully, West Ham will be able to keep the Colombian forward quiet over the course of the 90 minutes at the London Stadium. It would be a real kick in the teeth if he found the next given the speculation around him this summer.
In other West Ham news, Paul Merson has predicted the result of the Hammers’ clash with Villa at the London Stadium
