Aston Villa has priced striker Jhon Duran at £40 million amid ongoing negotiations with West Ham over his signature.
The 20-year-old is hot property at the moment as West Ham is pursuing the Colombian striker to be their next hitman up top.
Last season, he scored five goals in 23 games but showed a lot of promise in an Aston Villa team that was full of quality. The attacker wants to leave Villa Park and it seems like West Ham is the most likely location.
Chelsea had shown interest in Duran earlier in the transfer window, but that seems to have gone quiet now putting the Hammers in pole position to land the attacker.
Reports say that West Ham have had a bid of £32 million plus a player rejected as Villa values Duran at £40 million and are refusing to budge on that figure.
It has created somewhat of a stalemate in the deal as the striker is keen to leave but no fee is agreed as of yet.
Why does Lopetegui want Jhon Duran?
The Hammers need a striker as last season their top-scoring striker was Michail Antonio who scored just seven goals. Lopetegui’s side had a 20-goal player in Jarrod Bowen, but the Spanish manager wants to add more firepower to the team’s front line.
There is also a risk that the Hammers could lose star attacker Mohammed Kudus this summer amid interest from Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Duran came through the academy at Columbian side Envigado before moving to Chicago in 2022. He only stayed in the US for one year as he then moved to Aston Villa in 2023 for a fee of £13.5 million.
Duran’s West Ham hint
Jhon Duran took to social media to hint at a possible move to London last week as he was seen doing the Hammers’ iron gesture on an Instagram live stream.
If the rumors are true, it could have been Duran hinting that a move to West Ham is all but complete.
