Jhon Duran has been best Aston Villa player this season
Jhon Duran has been the best player for Aston Villa this season ahead of Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans – even though he’s only started one game.
Villa have made a strong start to the 2024-25 season, having lost just one of their 10 games in all competitions.
The Birmingham club are sat fourth in the Premier League with 14 points from seven matches and maintain a 100 per cent record in cup competitions.
Watkins, Tielemans and Morgan Rogers have excelled for Unai Emery’s side, but Duran has staked a claim to be the team’s best player so far in 2024/25.
Jhon Duran knocking on Unai Emery’s door for first XI spot at Aston Villa
As per Transfermarkt, Duran has clocked just 324 minutes of playing time for Aston Villa this season, with his only start coming in their 2-1 EFL Cup win against Wycombe Wanderers on 24 September.
Nevertheless, the 20-year-old has had a tremendous impact on Emery’s side, netting six times in all competitions, which is the most by any Villa player, and averaging a goal every 54 minutes.
The Villa Park outfit have won each of the six games he has scored in and more importantly, all but one of those goals have been winners.
Duran is level on goals with Watkins in the Premier League at four but boasts a significantly better shot-conversion rate.
The Colombian has converted 40 per cent of his shots in the league, while Watkins has managed only 25 per cent, according to Sofascore. Top scorer Erling Haaland’s shot-conversion rate stands at 29 per cent.
Duran has also built a reputation for getting stuck in during the little time he is on the pitch, winning 40 per cent of his duels in the league.
The striker also deserves credit for turning things around at Aston Villa after a summer of uncertainty.
Villa considered selling Duran in the summer amid concerns about his attitude, prompting enquiries from Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
However, he was recently rewarded with a new six-year contract.
In other Aston Villa news, Ian Darke believes the club are facing the dangers of navigating several competitions.
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