Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran appears to be the number one striker target for West Ham United this summer.
It was claimed yesterday that West Ham made a concrete move to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa, by making a £35 million bid for the 20-year-old – one that included a 10% sell-on clause.
Julen Lopetegui is clearly desperate to strengthen his centre-forward ranks at the London Stadium this summer.
Michail Antonio has done a fine job for us over the years, but the time has come for Lopetegui to make a big upgrade on the Jamaica international.
Interestingly, David Moyes tried to bring Duran to the London Stadium back in January 2023, before he joined Aston Villa instead.
And now Lopetegui will try to succeed where Moyes failed. Whatever happens, getting the signing of a centre-forward who suits his system over the line before the start of the new season will be pivotal to his hopes of getting the Hammers back inside the top seven.
So what’s the current state of play? A new claim has emerged about the Duran transfer chase…
Big Jhon Duran to West Ham twist
So the former striker could be set to swap Villa Park for the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.
I think he’d be a superb signing for us, and the fact that he’s young with many more levels still to reach makes him the ideal project for Lopetegui and his coaching staff.
Whilst he’s relatively unproven in the Premier League, the raw ingredients he possesses makes it a dead cert that he’ll succeed at the very highest level as far as I’m concerned.
And now, it seems like the Hammers’ pursuit of Duran has just taken a completely new turn.
According to a report from 90min, there has been a big twist in the Hammers’ pursuit of the Colombia international.
And it’s seemingly great news for the East London outfit.
That’s because West Ham can now sign Duran for cheaper than first thought, on one condition.
It is suggested that Villa will accept a lower fee for the 20-year-old striker, if the Hammers include an increased sell-on clause in the deal.
That seems like an absolute no-brainer to me, because it would be a win-win situation for West Ham.
Duran would be perfect for the Hammers
The South American forward is literally the perfect player for our team, and more specifically, the system that Lopetegui likes to implement.
The South American starlet has bagged eight goals in 49 games for Aston Villa, but it is his all-round game that will appeal most to Lopetegui.
The 6ft 1in striker is extremely strong in the air, possesses really impressive pace and is more than capable of leading the line on his own.
He runs the channels with aplomb, and always works hard to create space for his teammates with his unselfish movement.
The prospect of Jhon Duran leading the line for West Ham alongside Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, with Lucas Paqueta slotted just in behind them, is an extremely exciting one.
And now, with Aston Villa allegedly prepared to accept a lower fee for him, a deal should be relatively easy for the Hammers to get over the line.
The beauty of this type of deal for West Ham is that we will be winners either way. If he doesn’t succeed at the London Stadium, we wouldn’t have paid a huge fee for him, and he’s still young enough to improve.
However, if he does light it up for the Hammers, we’ll be able to sell him on for an extortionate fee in a few year’s time anyway – say £60 million plus, thus making the sell-on clause nothing more than a mere afterthought.
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