According to various reports, West Ham United have made a blockbuster offer worth £57 million for Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.
The Colombian striker was on West Ham’s radar throughout the summer transfer window and it seemed as if he had decided to make a move to the London Stadium at some point.
But after learning of Aston Villa’s then reserve price of £40 million, West Ham took their deal in a different direction and signed Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund instead.
Six months later, new West Ham head coach Graham Potter is limited to one recognized striker, Danny Ings, due to injuries to Fullkrug, captain Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, who fortunately escaped with his life after a car accident before Christmas.
The athlete report that West Ham have revived their interest in Duran and have made a sensational offer worth £57m for the Champions League contender. The offer is expected to be rejected as Villa do not want to accept any further offers for the lively 21-year-old.
Duran has scored seven Premier League goals for Villa this season despite struggling for minutes with Ollie Watkins up front, and signed a new six-year deal in October as a reward for his electrifying start to the season. His breakthrough under Unai Emery also saw him score a stunning winner in a memorable 1-0 victory over Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
West Ham’s top scorers are Tomas Soucek and Bowen with five goals each. However, the latter is currently out after breaking his foot in the heavy 5-0 defeat to Premier League leaders Liverpool at the end of December.
Antonio is not expected to play again this season, while Fullkrug could be out of action for up to three months after suffering a hamstring injury in West Ham’s FA Cup third round defeat, ironically at the hands of Villa . The pair meet again in the Premier League on Sunday after meeting at the London Stadium on the opening day of the season – a game in which Duran scored to fire Villa to a 2-1 win.