Troy Deeney reacts to Jhon Duran incident after what he saw at Aston Villa
Jhon Duran’s stamp which earned him a red card in the Aston Villa defeat against Newcastle was a “deliberate act”, Troy Deeney has said.
Speaking on talkSPORT (27 December, 12:45pm), Deeney said that despite Duran being an exceptional talent, he knew what he was doing when going studs-in on Fabian Schar in the 3-0 Boxing Day loss.
Duran has subsequently seen his red card and resulting three-match ban upheld by the FA, meaning he’ll be out of Premier League action until 18 January 2025 following his moment of madness.
Deeney said: “It’s a deliberate act. As somebody that may have left a stud or two in on purpose – your foot wouldn’t have fallen straight, it would have fallen on the side, his carried on through.
“He knew what he was doing, and the best part about it is how quick he tried to help him up. If you fell and it was an accident, your natural response is to look back where you fell – he looked straight at Schar.
“It’s his third sending off, he’s 21. He’s an exceptionally talented player, an unbelievable maverick – keeping him within the reins, between the lines, is going to be the hardest part.”
Jhon Duran absence could prove costly for Aston Villa
Villa’s firebrand young forward being missing for their next three league games does help to solve Unai Emery’s selection headache in attack, having had to bench Ollie Watkins for the last four matches.
However, given the Spaniard’s two strikers have worked so well in tandem this season – with one of the duo having their say on the scoresheet more often than not – Duran will still be a huge miss.
Although the score was only 1-0 at St. James’ Park before Duran’s red card left them a man down for 58 of the 90 minutes, Emery’s side were well below-par throughout and barely laid a glove on Newcastle.
That’s a trend which will need to change quickly if the Villans are to remain in the fight for European places this season, with matches against Brighton, Leicester City and Everton coming up next.
Duran scored back-to-back winning goals against Leicester and Everton earlier this season – the latter coming in some style – but without him, Villa will need to find their inspiration from other sources.
In other Aston Villa news, the Lions could have a permanent transfer exit lined up in January for one of their returning loanees.
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