Aston Villa have placed a 'Not for Sale' sign on Jhon Duran during this transfer window.
Unai Emery has rejected a second attempt by West Ham to sign the striker from Villa Park after the Birmingham club raised the unwanted specter of a £57million bid from Eastenders. The Hammers tried to buy the 21-year-old forward last summer – and the offer was rejected – and that response remained unchanged yesterday.
The Spaniard deemed the offer so far removed from Villa's asking price that he refused to take the matter seriously and discuss the subject ahead of their Champions League match in Monaco this evening. And there is a feeling among Villa that the news has been leaked to destabilize them on the eve of one of their biggest games of the season.
Villa play West Ham in the Premier League next Sunday and there is now likely to be an added edge to the match following their pursuit of the striker.
Duran has become one of the most popular players in the Premier League after a storming start to the season that saw him emerge as a serious rival to Ollie Watkins.
The England international remains Emery's No.1 choice to lead Villa's attack, but Duran's 12 goals this season – including the winner in an iconic clash against Bayern Munich – has him nipping at his teammate's heels.
Those goals came in less than 1,000 minutes on the pitch – stats that have clearly interested a number of different prospects.
Villa revealed they had received calls from 40 clubs over the summer when it emerged Duran might be on the market. But Emery believes the powerful striker has the potential to be 'world class' and rewarded his form with a new five-and-a-half-year contract three months ago.
That has apparently not deterred West Ham, although Villa strongly deny the figures are anywhere near as high as reported.
Comments