Emile Heskey wades in with strong view on controversial Aston Villa debate

Heskey believes Jhon Durán’s patience will be wearing thin soon if Unai Emery doesn’t decide to hand the Colombian consistent Premier League starts.

Durán hasn’t been in the XI for any of Villa’s opening eight English top-tier fixtures so far this season. There’s a hint that could soon change, though, as the 20-year-old was handed his first start of the season on Wednesday, for the 2-0 win over Bologna in the Champions League.

Many would argue Durán is better as a super sub but the game midweek proved he can succeed just as well from the off. Seven goals in merely 404 competitive minutes makes for remarkable reading and Heskey thinks Emery simply can’t ignore Durán from Premier League lineups any longer.

"Looking at Jhon Durán, and after his goal in the Champions League against Bologna this week, he will be thinking why he isn't in that starting XI regularly for Premier League games," Heskey said.

"I don’t blame him, that is how a player should think when they are in that type of form. Unai Emery may see it differently, when it's working as it is in the Premier League with Ollie Watkins starting and Durán being that impact off the bench, why change things up with Villa in the top four?

"The thing is, as the season progresses there will be more games where Durán will need to start due to injuries and rotation, such as in the Champions League, so he needs to continue to take these opportunities with both hands and prove why he should be the starting striker. He's definitely talented enough."