West Ham are still reeling over their failed move for Jhon Duran in the summer and now the Aston Villa striker has finally spoken about it.
One of West Ham’s top priorities in the summer was signing a new striker.
Aston Villa star Jhon Duran was identified as West Ham’s top target by technical director Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui.
Villa fans were annoyed at the possibility Duran might leave for Premier League rivals West Ham.
That only served to ramp up excitement among Hammers supporters.
After all if fans of the club who have Ollie Watkins up front are so desperate to keep their back-up striker, then he must be some player.
That was the theory anyway.
West Ham’s owners refused to meet Villa’s £45m asking price, feeling it was too much for such an inexperienced player.
Well Duran has spent the first quarter of the season making that decision look laughable while redeeming himself with Aston Villa fans who were angry after he did the crossed Hammers gesture on social media as a move looked on the cards.
Steidten negotiated with Aston Villa for around a month.
In the end, though, the German chose to save money for other signings by bringing in injury-prone 31-year-old compatriot Niclas Fullkrug instead.
Some blame Steidten and others blame the owners for what has unfolded since.
That being a spell of supreme form from the 20-year-old which has West Ham fans – and owners – wondering what might have been.
Duran scored his eighth goal of the season in midweek. He has caught the attentions of clubs across Europe by scoring some bangers too against the likes Bayern Munich, Everton.
Duran finally opens up on failed West Ham move
Not to mention his hard-to-stomach winner at West Ham on the opening day.
Duran’s redemption arc has been as stunning for Villa as it is painful for West Ham.
Now the man in question has spoken for the first time about the doomed deal.
Duran has finally opened up on his failed West Ham move and even gives a glimmer of hope with an honest admission on his Aston Villa future.
It was claimed last week that Duran remains on West Ham’s list of targets with signing a younger striker a necessity in the coming windows.
There is reportedly a belief that the Hammers can play on the fact Duran is not getting the regular starting berth he craves and think they may be able to sign him next summer.
That may seem pie in the sky given Duran penned a new long-term contract at Villa last month.
But in a candid interview with Sky Sports, Duran has conceded – without explicitly naming West Ham – there was a chance he was going to move to the London Stadium.
And he says his burning desire to be the main striker coupled with his lack of patience means that he may still want that at another club.
Striker gives glimmer of hope with honest Villa admission
Duran said he is happy at Villa for now but also admitted he has a ‘love and sometimes hate’ relationship with Unai Emery over his lack of starts.
“I think (Watkins) is in his moment, and you have to respect,” Duran said.
“Because he has the numbers, he’s doing the work, he has everything, he has the understanding, the experience, and I think I’m on my way to that. I’m on my way to being at the level. I keep working to improve a little more. Wanting to always be like I am now.
“And for me it’s very important, because in the future, we don’t know if what’s happening now can happen in another team, I don’t know. Nobody knows the future.
“But I think it’s also part of life, of work, to be mentally strong, especially. Because these are issues that, as a young player, you see the numbers he has this season, and you want to play all the time. So I think that it helps you to adjust a little for the future.
“Yes (there was a possibility of leaving in the summer), I think there were rumours,” Duran added.
“As a young man, the head goes to other places. But there was always total support from Unai, from [president of football operations] Monchi, and above all from Damian [Vidagany, director of football operations].”
Related Posts
