Still only 20 years old and hailing from Medellín, Colombia, Jhon Durán has burst into the Premier League headlines throughout the early stages of the 2024/25 campaign. The backup striker to Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa had actually outscored his first-choice counterpart through the opening five games, but didn’t start a single game.
Now, it’s assumed that manager Unai Emery will continue to keep Watkins at the top of his line-up, with little desire to change formation to accommodate the red-hot substitute striker. While he happily hands Durán 90 minutes in cup games, with him scoring what ended up being the winner against Wycombe, league starts look to be hard to come by.
So, if things continue as they are and Watkins doesn’t suffer a long-term injury, Durán might just be one of the most sought-after – perhaps even one of the most available – strikers in the January transfer window.
A red hot start without the minutes
Through the first five games of the Premier League season, Durán scored four goals in five substitute appearances. With a grand total of 131 minutes on the pitch, he averaged a goal every 33 minutes. By comparison, Watkins put away three goals in five games across 362 minutes for a hit rate of a goal every 120 minutes.
Basically, he’s become a darling for live betting – especially when the game is tied. Three of his four goals in this bracket have come with the score level, so fans who clocked this early have been piling into the Betano live bets to back the next goalscorer and winning team as Durán and Villa.
The Colombian is potent in front of goal and utilizes his speed and movement to create space around defenders who’ve been worn down by Watkins’ relentless pursuit of goals all game. Durán’s three winning goals from the bench put him in firing range of the record, per the BBC, of five game-winning goals when starting as a substitute.
Big clubs rumored to be circling
Such goal-scoring efficiency can’t be overlooked by any club in the elite leagues – especially as truly top-class strikers have seemingly become so tough to find. The Colombian is still young, but his scoring rate shows a tremendous amount of promise, and all while it seems unlikely that he’ll get to start for Aston Villa much.
Papers in Spain claim that FC Barcelona’s Deco has already been in touch to see what the situation is for Durán, while outlets closer to the Premier League list the likes of Arsenal, West Ham United, Newcastle United, and the cash-chucking Chelsea as frontrunners for the striker. AC Milan have also come into the conversation of late.
Beyond those clubs, you could probably name several more big clubs willing to pay up for such a gifted young forward even if it’s to ease them into the system. Those named are more overtly in need of a number nine, but Durán could suit Paris Saint-Germain in their post-superstar era of rebuilding, or maybe even Atlético Madrid.
There are many games to play between now and the January transfer window, and if he keeps on scoring as he is, Durán will only multiply his current fairly high transfer value – causing Emery even more of a welcomed headache.
