Jhon Duran must learn from Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa as Neil Moxley brands him ‘one to watch’
Jhon Duran must learn from Aston Villa teammate Ollie Watkins to improve his game after struggling to impress when called upon by Unai Emery.
The 19-year-old scored his first and only Premier League goal of the season against Crystal Palace in September but has since found the net just once, in a 3-2 Conference League defeat to Legia Warsaw.
Sunday People journalist Neil Moxley spoke to GIVEMESPORT [5 December] where he branded Duran “one to watch” and warned all it would take is one injury for the Colombian to be thrown into the starting line-up.
Duran has made eight Premier League appearances so far this season, although none have come from the start and he has averaged just 14 minutes per game. However, he has started three of Villa’s Europa Conference League games, so he has been given opportunities to make his mark.
The last three games in which Duran has been handed substantial minutes came against Bournemouth in the Premier League and both Legia Warsaw and Zrinjski in the Conference League.
In that Premier League clash with Bournemouth, Duran completed just two passes at a 50% success rate after coming off the bench with two minutes to go, he also had a 0% duel success rate and saw both of his shots miss the target as he failed to change the game in the way Emery would have wanted. [Sofascore]
He also played a combined 135 minutes in those Conference League ties, completing 18 passes in that time, with a 25% aerial duel success rate and a big chance missed as he failed to find the net in either.
When coming on in the Premier League, which he has done eight times this season, Duran is often paired with Ollie Watkins. The Englishman has been on fire this season, and Duran should take notes to help improve his game.
Watkins is more willing to get involved with the game outside of goalscoring, with an average of 11.7 accurate passes per 90 minutes at a success rate of 75%, as well as 1.6 key passes. Duran, meanwhile, averages just 3.0 at a 69% success rate. [Sofascore]
If he can grow his confidence on the ball and get more involved in the game as his strike partner does, it could do him a world of good.
He also needs to work on how clinical his finishing is. With an average of 2.3 shots per game in the Conference League, he has racked up a tally of just 0.95 expected goals, displaying how he will often shoot from difficult positions.
Watkins, meanwhile, takes 2.9 shots per game, but his eight goals 7.96 xG show how clinical he is when facing the goalkeeper, timing his chances and making better decisions in front of goal.
At just 19 years old, Duran still has plenty of room to learn and grow, and there aren’t many better forwards to learn from in the division than Watkins. If he keeps learning and improving, he could set himself up nicely for more of an impact.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has been thrilled by one Villa star.