View: Jhon Duran goal threat could ease Danny Ings blow for Aston Villa
Aston Villa announced the signing of 19-year-old Colombian striker Jhon Durán this week as Unai Emery looks to add more pace and power to his front line.
After the departure of Danny Ings to West Ham United, a striker had to come through the door at Villa Park – and although Duran is a relatively unknown quantity, there’s a chance he could be given plenty of opportunities by the Villa boss.
At present, Ollie Watkins is Villa’s only out-and-out striker, which could lead to Duran being thrown straight into contention in the Villans’ next Premier League game against Leicester City.
Emery’s side have a week off to prepare for the fixture after their FA Cup exit to Stevenage. The extended break could allow for Villa to focus on transfers and add a new striker to their ranks.
However, if another player doesn’t arrive, the time off is the perfect opportunity to integrate Duran firmly into the squad. Here Villa News looks deeper at the Colombian and whether he has the attributes to replace Ings’ goalscoring pedigree.
First of all, it’s important to realise Duran is built very differently to Ings. He’s nine centimetres taller than the now West Ham United striker and potentially comes in more of a ‘Watkins mould’.
As a side note, the signing of the Colombian, who has similar attributes to the former Brentford man, could well mean Watkins’ is viewed as a long-term option by Emery.
Duran’s physical prowess is displayed clearly in his underlying statistics when compared to Ings and Watkins. As per Wyscout, the 19-year-old attempts 26 duels per 90 minutes, with a success rate of 39 per cent, which is more than Watkins (22) and Ings’ (16).
Evidently, he’s a player who will like to put himself about and be a presence up front, not just a goalscoring threat. This is demonstrated further, with Duran averaging nearly double the amount of aerial duels than Watkins and Ings, whilst maintaining an impressive 50 per cent success rate.
However, the concern for Villa fans will be whether the young Colombian can replace the goalscoring pedigree of Ings. The simple answer is that it’s going to take a lot for the striker to replicate what the 30-year-old has done at Villa Park.
Although the Villa faithful shouldn’t be too concerned. The 19-year-old is a confident young player, who has actually averaged more shots per 90 minutes than Ings over the past calendar year and has an expected goals of 0.37 per 90.
From this, we can see that he’s a player who wants to test the goalkeeper at every opportunity and that he has a sense of selfishness which all strikers need.
One area of improvement is his shot accuracy. His 39 per cent is lower than Villa’s current strike force – and potentially one explanation as to why his expected goals is not slightly higher.
There would’ve been plenty of concern after Ings’ move to West Ham and another striker will certainly be welcomed in the next couple of days. However, fans should certainly not write off Duran as a long-term project who won’t be able to come in and help Aston Villa immediately.
It feels as if he’s a player who is suited to the way Emery wants to play and potentially could thrive more than Ings did in his system – let’s not write him off before he’s been given the chance to show what he’s about at Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, a 17-year-old academy prospect has signed his first professional contract with the club.