Arsenal have been handed a hands-off warning by Aston Villa, who have no intention of selling Jhon Duran in the January transfer window.
The Gunners are desperate to sign a striker this month to bolster their struggling attack, which has been further weakened by Gabriel Jesus' serious knee injury. The Brazilian is expected to be sidelined for a long time due to a suspected anterior cruciate ligament problem, forcing Arsenal to look for a replacement.
“We are actively looking to improve the team,” Mikel Arteta confirmed on Tuesday. “We have been doing that since day one. We would be naive if we didn't do that.”
Arsenal are interested in Nico Williams from Athletic Bilbao and Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, but as Mirror Football has reported, signing either of them will not be easy. Williams has a £50m release clause at Athletic Bilbao and wants to leave on £300,000-a-week, while Sesko could be difficult to lure mid-season.
Duran is another striker that Arsenal have previously been interested in. Reports emerged in November that Villa had rejected a £46 million bid. The 21-year-old forward subsequently signed a new contract, keeping him at Villa Park until 2030, but the transfer links have not disappeared.
Villa received interest from around 40 clubs last summer and talkSPORT say West Ham are the latest to be rejected. The Hammers reportedly offered £40m to sign Duran this month, but an offer of £60m or more would be needed before Villa would even consider selling.
The Athletic goes even further and claims they value the Colombian at £100m. Although he sometimes starts games on the bench, with Unai Emery preferring Ollie Watkins in his 4-2-3-1 formation with one striker, Duran is highly regarded at the club and has shown his worth this season with twelve goals in 26 appearances. .
Villa will be busy in January but have already sold Jaden Philogene to Ipswich for £22m to sign Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund for £21m. “We are in the transfer window and trying to make some moves,” Emery said on Tuesday.
“One of them is the possibility of signing Donyell Malen. If he signs for us, it's almost time: one player has to leave and the player who is about to leave is Jaden Philogene.
“We are alert and always want to be ready to improve our team. Some players want to leave us and also under other circumstances. When we change the players, Malen is the first for Jaden. Maybe the possibility of two or three players leaving and we can do a deal until the last days of the transfer window.”
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