Jamie O’Hara makes ‘remarkable’ Jhon Duran admission at Aston Villa
Jamie O’Hara believes Jhon Duran is one of the best strikers in the Premier League after he scored for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup.
The Colombia international netted his eighth goal of the season as Villa crashed out of the League Cup after a 2-1 loss to Palace on Wednesday (30 October).
Impressed with Duran, O’Hara lauded the striker’s impact off the bench for Unai Emery’s side as “remarkable” and urged the Spanish tactician to find a way to include him in his starting XI.
“Jhon Duran scored again in midweek – he’s definitely up there with the best strikers in the league at the moment”, O’Hara wrote in his column on Grosvenor (1 November).
“I can’t remember a player having such a consistent impact off the bench in the modern Premier League era, it’s remarkable.
“Villa need to find a way to work him into the first XI because he’s too good to be left on the bench all game.”
Jhon Duran’s impact off the bench for Aston Villa remarkable
O’Hara is right in hailing Duran’s impact off the bench as remarkable as five of his eight goals this season have come when came on as a substitute.
What is perhaps more astounding is the fact that four of those goals have been winners. This includes a stunner in Aston Villa’s 1-0 UEFA Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on 2 October.
Duran would have been a regular starter for the Birmingham outfit by now had it not been for Ollie Watkins. Emery has continued to trust the Englishman up front, restricting the 20-year-old to just three starts in all competitions.
However, there is a case to be made about Emery finding a way to include both Watkins and Duran in his starting lineup and it remains to be seen if the manager will eventually do it.
It is worth noting that Duran was linked with a move away from Villa Park in the summer (Fabrizio Romano). His social media antics over the summer also left a sour taste in the fans’ mouths and this could be another reason why Emery is taking his time to ease him into the starting XI.
In other Aston Villa news, Gary Lineker opened the Match of the Day on Saturday (2 November) by taking a swipe at the Birmingham-based club.
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