A report indicates that Chelsea has a “legitimate interest” in Jhon Duran, an Aston Villa player, and that a “surprise bid” for the striker is contingent on two further moves.
The Colombian international’s loan deal from West Ham was apparently turned down by Villa, and the Telegraph has verified that Chelsea is indeed interested in the 20-year-old, as was first reported earlier this month.
“Duran is a name under careful consideration with one week left before the window shuts,” it is said.
Duran paid £18 million to join Villa from Chicago in January of last year. Under Unai Emery, he has made 35 appearances and scored four goals, but he hasn’t yet started a Premier League match since Ollie Watkins is still well-positioned ahead of him in the striker hierarchy.
He is rumored to want more opportunities, but it doesn’t seem very likely that Chelsea would give them to him given that he would be cup tied for the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, and that he would be competing with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku for a starting spot before the likely arrival of a big-money striker signing in the summer.
Any attempt to get Duran will probably depend on Villa’s pursuit of Middlesbrough forward Morgan Rogers, for whom they have already had two bids turned down.
Furthermore, the article states that “any firm Chelsea move uran may well rest on whether Armando Broja, who is thought to have interested Villa, leaves Stamford Bridge during the final week of the transfer window.”
The Albanian international is apparently valued by the Blues at above £50 million, though they may lower their asking price when the transfer season closes. Wolves, Fulham, and West Ham are all supposedly interested in the player but are “unable or unwilling to pay such a big fee.”
Given the uncertainty surrounding Conor Gallagher’s future and Chelsea’s potential need for a “late flurry of transfer activity,” the acquisition of Duran may depend on
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