Aston Villa: Jhon Duran summer exit still possible amid new Villa Park transfer update
Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran’s future “could go either way” during the summer transfer window amid recent exit links, according to Alan Hutton.
The 20-year-old forward was linked with a move away from Villa Park throughout the January transfer window, with both Chelsea and West Ham United reportedly keen to take him on loan for the second half of the campaign.
Despite those links, the Colombian forward remains with Emery’s side and was handed his first Premier League start of the season against West Ham United, but was unable to impact proceedings before being hooked at half-time.
While Hutton admits Villa could be tempted to let Duran leave this summer, he believes Emery should give the striker more time and further opportunities to grow his partnership with Ollie Watkins at the top end of the field.
“Possibly, I think for him it could go either way,” Hutton told Villa News.
“He’s still very young, still rough around the edges. We saw him against Ajax, he scored a wonderful goal but he had a couple of opportunities just before it where he kind of just slashed it and tried to hit it as hard as possible so there’s still room for improvement.
“I like him, unfortunately for him at this time, Ollie Watkins has just been outstanding and he can’t force his way in.
“I think if you are going to change it and the likes of Watkins and Duran together, you have to give that time to grow you can’t just expect it in one game to be amazing, oh what a partnership this is. It needs to be allowed to grow, so we’ll have to wait and see if this happens.
“It looks like the manager likes to play them up there with the likes of Diaby or Bailey, someone who can run off them and do that sort of thing. We’ll see how it works but I still believe there’s a player in there for the future.”
Will Aston Villa consider selling Jhon Duran in the January transfer window?
Aston Villa’s position in the league has inadvertently led to plenty of speculation around Villa Park currently as nobody is sure whether or not the likes of Watkins and Douglas Luiz will be keen to leave if Emery’s side misses out on the Champions League.
If Villa do finish in the top four, they have been tipped to spend big to try and help their side become ready for the challenge of European football and that could leave Duran slightly in limbo.
While it would be a surprise to see Villa cut ties with the forward so early on his career, it does feel as though his career could go either way as Hutton suggested. So far, nothing is set in stone.
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton believes Villa may be put off of a move for one Arsenal star this summer after a new update
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