Ollie Watkins transfer claim made at Aston Villa as Jhon Duran seeks West Ham United move
Don Goodman can fully understand why “frustrated” striker Jhon Duran would like to leave Aston Villa this summer.
Duran was restricted to just three Premier League starts last season owing to the form of first-choice centre-forward Ollie Watkins.
The Colombia international made an impact when called upon, scoring five times across his 23 largely substitute appearances in the top flight.
West Ham have lodged a bid worth £35million for Duran [Fabrizio Romano, 9 July], and Goodman believes it is a move the player will want.
“From Jhon Duran’s perspective, I completely get it – he wants to be playing more football,” he exclusively told Villa News.
“He’s not going to get that playing time at Villa because of how sensational Ollie Watkins has been, so he’ll want that move.
“You’d imagine he’ll have the same sort of season coming up as the one he did last season if he stays, so you can see why he’d be frustrated.”
Aston Villa have big Jhon Duran transfer decision to make
Watkins showed the world what Aston Villa fans have been seeing across a number of years when he struck a late winner for England against the Netherlands this week.
There is no doubt that he will remain the Villans’ go-to man up top next season as Unai Emery prepares his side for their maiden Champions League campaign.
Duran can still play a role as an impact sub, a replacement for Watkins in certain games, or even working in tandem with the latter if Villa are chasing a goal.
However, quite how happy the Colombian will be with that, only he knows. As Goodman says, it is easy to see why he would be frustrated.
On one hand, it could be argued that given his age – he does not turn 21 until December – it makes sense to continue his development at Villa Park for now.
On the other, he is being given a chance to lead the line at an ambitious Premier League club in West Ham, who are crying out for a hungry goalscorer.
Villa will ultimately have the final say, and if they deem this supposed £35m bid from the Irons acceptable, it makes sense to take the money now and reinvest it back into the squad.
In other Aston Villa news, Goodman has raised a question with regards to the transfer talk regarding Jaden Philogene.
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