Unai Emery reveals how he helped Jhon Duran reach ‘best level’ at Aston Villa
Unai Emery has revealed he helped Jhon Duran as a person and a player to help him reach his best level at Aston Villa.
The 20-year-old has had a superb start to the campaign which has seen him score eight goals in all competitions, matching his tally from last year in less than half the games.
The Colombia international was heavily linked away from Villa Park over the summer but a deal never went through and now in an interview with Sky Sports Premier League (3 November), Emery has shared how he got the best out of the striker.
He said: “As a coach, I’m very proud of how I can help and support young players with this talent to adapt in the demand that we have. How they are responding is really amazing. At the end, we are selecting the players and they can’t have this mentality that they aren’t showing it. Jhon Duran is one with this characteristic.
“We have to try and analyse them as a person and as a player and try and connect both. Sometimes you need to get the best of them by identifying how they are as a person and help them and how they are as a player and connect both to get the best of them.
“Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers are my own challenges here, to try and support and help them to reach their best level, hopefully here at Aston Villa.”
Unai Emery reveals Jhon Duran boost at Aston Villa
The Villans have massively benefitted from the influence of the ex-Chicago Fire ace this campaign, winning multiple games with his goals.
Key moments against Bayern Munich, West Ham United, Leicester City and Everton have helped secure additional points that would have gone elsewhere otherwise.
This has seen Duran become a firm fan favourite at Villa Park which is a swift change from supporters’ views from the summer.
It appeared that the youngster was looking to force a move away from B6 but luckily for the Villans, he stayed on at the club.
Emery has clearly worked hard to get the most out of the 20-year-old who undoubtedly has plenty of potential which will serve Villa well in the future.
The Spaniard has high hopes for the striker, which has resulted in him being handed a new contract to keep him at the club.
It is interesting for fans to get an insight into the manager and how he works to get the best out of his players.
In other Aston Villa news, a major decision has been made on Jacob Ramsey’s future amid an update over one star.
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