Confirmed: Aston Villa reach agreement to sign Chicago Fire striker Jhon Duran
Aston Villa have reached an agreement to sign 19-year-old Chicago Fire striker Jhon Duran, the club has confirmed.
The Colombian international has scored eight goals and provided six assists in 28 appearances for Chicago after joining the club at the beginning of the 2022 MLS season.
Emery has been looking to bolster his paper-thin attacking options in his first window since arriving as Villa manager as he looks to mount a charge on the Premier League in the second half of the season.
The deal is subject to the attacker passing his medical and agreeing to personal terms, but when confirmed, Duran will become Unai Emery’s second signing of this window after Alex Moreno moved from Real Betis.
A club statement on Twitter said: “Aston Villa can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Chicago Fire for the permanent transfer of 19-year-old striker, Jhon Durán.”
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The signing of Duran makes sense on a number of levels.
At the moment, Leon Bailey is the one out-and-out winger Emery can play at Aston Villa following the summer departures of Anwar El Ghazi, Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet. Villa’s shortage of wide attackers has meant 16-year-old Kadan Young has had to feature on the bench several times since Emery’s arrival.
Duran has been the hot topic of MLS football in the last year after hitting the ground running in Chicago. He is 6ft 1in, a strong, powerful presence, but also possesses the pace to get in behind opposition defences.
His debut season was so impressive that a number of European teams – including Chelsea and Liverpool – came snooping for the Colombian teenager, and the transfer fee is reportedly going to be one of the three biggest in MLS history. [Daily Mail, 17 January]
This is a very-unlike Villa kind of signing to make over the past few years, but snapping the youngster up on a potentially long-term contract and in front of the eyes of some of Europe’s biggest clubs is quite simply a brilliant piece of business.
The Emery era is well and truly underway, and they’ve managed to secure a gem in Duran.
In other Aston Villa news, this one first-team player could quickly become a fan-favourite after his brilliant performance against Leeds in the Premier League.