Credit: Imago

Max Wilkins

Wed 25 March 2026 8:40, UK

Aston Villa let Jhon Duran go over 12 months ago, and he is still a massively polarising figure at Villa Park.

Firstly, I totally understand why those who agree with the decision to sell the Colombia international and I’ll delve into that first.

The 22-year-old was a live wire on the pitch, but clearly caused plenty of problems off the pitch for Unai Emery and Co.

He did his utmost to try to force through a move to West Ham before eventually getting his wish to join Al Nassr in the 2025 January transfer window.

There are plenty of reasons why Duran was sold by Aston Villa, but I still feel it was a missed opportunity with a potentially elite talent.

Jhon Duran was a true sensation for Aston Villa

The striker came in as an unknown quantity for a sizable fee from Chicago Fire in 2023 and took his time to acclimatise to life at Bodymoor Heath.

It wasn’t until his second campaign in B6 that he scored for the first time in claret and blue, and he never really looked back after that.

His third season in the Midlands was by far his best as his five goals in half a season of Premier League action seriously caught the eye.

That was because the majority of those came off the bench and he became the ultimate super sub for Emery’s side.

He was also helped by his eye for the spectacular, with goals against Bayern Munich, Everton and RB Leipzig living long in the memory.

It appears that many fans have forgotten just how good the Colombian was throughout that period, if recent discussions are anything to go by.

Duran has recently moved to Russia with Zenit, and many see that as a failure on his part, but I certainly think Villa have played their part in that.

Duran deserved more at Villa Park, even if he was a handful

No player is owed anything by any football club, but looking back, the youngster surely deserved more minutes than he was afforded.

His goalscoring record before his £64million exit was excellent, showcasing his talent as one of the best form strikers in the Premier League.

I can understand the point that Villa secured a massive fee for him, and he has since gone on to be pretty terrible wherever he’s gone.

Even with that being the case, I feel Emery would have got the best out of him, and he would have calmed down, given time as a regular starter.

His attitude was an issue, and the Villa boss clearly didn’t want it around his squad, so a sale makes sense from that point of view.

But in terms of raw talent and ability, the Villans may not find a striker with his attributes anytime soon.

How good was Duran for Aston Villa?

People’s opinion of Duran has certainly been negatively affected by his recent career moves, including his red card away to Newcastle United.

That shouldn’t take away from his sheer impact in the first half of the 2024-25 season, where he put in several stunning performances.

It wasn’t even just special moments off the bench, as he proved against Bologna in the Champions League, he could thrive from the start.

He scored the second goal in a 2-0 win, while also creating one chance and maintaining a 100 per cent dribble success rate.

Duran also won five duels on the night as he showed his ability to get stuck in and show true grit in front of the Villa Park faithful.

That is just one example of his talents outside the highlight reel, yet it’s somehow unreasonable to suggest he wasn’t good enough for Villa.

Attitude problems caused his B6 downfall, and a £64m fee is amazing, but I can’t help feel that Villa and Duran failed to get the best out of each other in the end.