Aston Villa could get fresh transfer windfall opportunity as Premier League rivals 'consider' bid

Aston Villa frontman Jhon Duran appears to be attracting fresh interest amid earlier reports claiming he was headed to Chelsea. The Blues are said to remain interested, but a deal does not appear to be close to completion.

That does not mean the Colombian won’t be sold, though, and reports have suggested Villa will listen to offers for Duran as they look to balance the books amid Profit and Sustainability concerns. That’s despite Villa boss Unai Emery describing the forward as a ‘special player’. He said in May: “Jhon Duran is a special player. We have to try and help him. He is a good guy, and he needs a team behind him. He is getting our demands better. He was very clinical and today was important for him. Today we are celebrating with our supporters, we have to push it and keep working and be consistent. We were consistent all the season. The team was being mature and always consistent in our mind. Inch by inch we did it.”

The Colombia international joined Villa on a fee worth a reported £14.75million plus £3million in add-ons, and after five goals in 35 league appearances, it now looks as though Villa can pocket a quick profit with a sale worth around £40million. The latest comes from TalkSPORT, who claim West Ham are considering a deal for the 20-year-old, with Julen Lopetegui looking for more competition at the top end of the pitch. That could help Villa speed the process along witht he potential for Chelsea and West Ham to battle for a deal.

As for Duran himself, in his latest response over a possible move, he told reporters: “The options of the other teams, I don’t know, I am not aware now,” he said. “I’m focused on the national team, at the Copa America, wanting to add minutes, supporting the team. For those topics of a possible move, I have other people who take care of that.”

Duran is currently with Colombia at Copa América, set to take on Panama in the quarter-finals on Saturday night. Villa may well keep Duran in an ideal world, but they have financial regulations to meet, while Emery will want to add to his squad ahead of a Champions League campaign. Asked about new recruits this summer, Emery has previously said: “To play in the Champions League for the players we have and for the players that we want to add, maybe it could help us,” said Emery.

“We have to be intelligent. We must arrange the fair play rules and through that, build a new team but more or less we are not thinking of adding or signing a lot of players. We are trying to be intelligent and how we can improve the squad. Of course, we are going to be very demanding in our decision, but we have to analyse deeply. Financially, being in the Champions League is better than not. But we have to manage and arrange the fair plat at the beginning, of this season. I think we can be intelligent and build.”