'New talks' - Aston Villa could see £70m striker pursuit cancelled as West Ham close in on fresh target

West Ham United have seemingly pulled out of the race to sign Aston Villa wonderkid Jhon Duran this January and are now pushing hard to secure the services of an experienced £19m attacker.

The Hammers are currently experiencing an injury crisis in attack with the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Nicklas Fullkrug all absent from first team action. As it stands, winger Mohamed Kudus is operating as a makeshift centre forward, with Danny Ings providing cover from the subs bench.

West Ham are currently 14th in the table after a disappointing first half of the season which saw the club regress despite spending more than £100m in the summer after Julen Lopetegui’s arrival as manager.

Now former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter is in charge of the capital club and is desperate to steer the club back into the top half of the table. His side travel to Aston Villa on Super Sunday just 16 days after their FA Cup exit at Villa Park.

West Ham back out of race to sign Jhon Duran

West Ham have long been admirers of Colombian wonderkid Jhon Duran and have been aiming to prise the striker away from Villa Park for over six months.

The Athletic reported in July 2024 that West Ham had submitted a £30m ($38.6m) bid plus teenage midfielder Lewis Orford to sign Duran, but this was rejected by Villa at the time. Reports from the outlet claimed Duran had agreed personal terms over a five-year deal, but claimed that West Ham were unable to meet Aston Villa’s hefty price tag for the forward.

Duran returned to punish the Hammers with a match-winning strike in August, and has established himself as one of the league’s most exciting young talents with 12 goals across all competitions, including a notable winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Birmingham World understands West Ham’s interest in Duran never faded and reports claim an improved offer of £57m was rejected by the Villans in January. Unai Emery’s side are desperate to keep Duran as competition for Ollie Watkins and are commanding a figure of around £70m.

West Ham make move for alternative striker target

Aston Villa fans will breathe a sigh of relief if they can retain the services of Jhon Duran beyond the transfer deadline of February 3 - and as it stands they are in pole position to do so with West Ham making strides towards the loan signing of 53-time Portuguese international Andre Silva from RB Leipzig.

The 29-year-old made a name for himself at FC Porto in 2016 and scored 16 goals in 32 league matches in his final season before completing a move to AC Milan.

The striker struggled for form at the San Siro and was sent out on loan to Sevilla before establishing himself as one of the most feared strikers in German football when completing a move to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Silva’s best season to date saw him hit 28 goals in 32 games for Frankfurt en route to a fifth placed finish before he completed a mega £19m move to RB Leipzig. He started well at the Red Bull Arena with a steady return of 11 goals in 33 games, but has struggled to hit the same heights in the last three season while also spending six months on loan at Real Sociedad.

West Ham, however, believe they can get the forward back to his best and are in ‘advanced talks’ over a six month loan deal, which will include a buy option, according to Sky Sports News.