Jhon Duran doesn’t have leg to stand on as Aston Villa claim made
Jhon Duran cannot complain about a lack of starts at Aston Villa due to how good Ollie Watkins is, according to Don Goodman.
Colombia international Duran has earned a reputation of being a super sub this season thanks to his goalscoring impact from the bench.
The 20-year-old has still yet to make a Premier League start this season, however, with Watkins used from the off in all nine matches.
And given Watkins has netted five times so far, Goodman believes Duran will simply have to bide his time a little while longer yet.
“I was listening to Unai Emery discussing Jhon Duran previously. He was very quick to praise the player’s attitude,” Goodman exclusively told Villa News. “If you’re a striker and there’s one place up for grabs, and the striker playing in your place is scoring goals, then he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
“If there’s a way Emery can play Watkins and Duran from the start, I’m sure he’d have explored it by now. Ollie looked tired early in the season but then got his goals and he’s an absolute handful.
“If it is a question is whether Duran should start ahead of Watkins then the answer is no. If the question is if both can play together, I think an opportunity would have been found by now if that was the case.
“Duran just has to continue waiting for his chance – whether that is through an injury for Watkins, or Watkins’ form going backwards. But full credit to Duran, his attitude has been spot on.”
Jhon Duran will get starts at Aston Villa
Unai Emery put his faith in Duran by handing him a start in last week’s Champions League clash with Bologna.
And Duran did what Duran so often does in making an impact when selected, yet it was not enough for him to retain his place against Bournemouth at the weekend.
Watkins fired a blank in that 1-1 draw, but he is scoring at a rate of 0.65 goals per 90 minutes in the league [BBC Sport], which is an impressive tally.
Starting both together does not seem likely, but Duran must simply keep doing what he is doing and he will get further opportunities to impress.
In other Aston Villa news, Goodman has questioned some transfer news regarding the Villans.
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