A new offer from West Ham for Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has been rejected, according to The Pitch Prospect.
The Colombian’s future at Villa Park has been the subject of speculation for some time, with the Irons among his admirers.
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Sources at the London Stadium claim that the Hammers were prepared to pay £40m for Duran, but that is believed to be nowhere near the villain’s value.
It is believed it would take at least £60m for Villa to even make an offer.
Over the summer, Duran was linked with both West Ham and Chelsea, with the striker even announcing a move to east London on social media.
While on holiday he made an Irons gesture during an Instagram Live video, but he ended up staying in the West Midlands for the first half of the season and scoring the winning goal against the Hammers in August.
And his form since then has done little to deter potential suitors.
At the halfway point of the season, the deadly striker has scored 12 goals in all competitions, despite appearing primarily as a substitute for Ollie Watkins.
Many of his contributions were insightful, including scoring league wins against Leicester City, Everton, Southampton and West Ham.
Duran also shone on the European stage with three Champions League goals – including the famous late winner against Bayern Munich.
And his performances this season haven’t just caught the attention of Premier League clubs.
Earlier this month there were rumors that Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain were interested in Duran’s services.
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And while the Villa frontman would join the likes of Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele and Lee Kang-In in the event of a move to the French capital, he would face significantly less competition at West Ham.
The Irons have struggled to score goals this season, with winger Jarrod Bowen topping their league goalscoring charts with five league goals, while summer signing Niclas Fullkrug – now injured – managed just two goals.
But with Arsenal also currently looking for a new striker, The Pitch Prospect’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook admitted the Gunners could also be interested in Duran.
On White and Jordan, Crook said: “Jhon Duran is obviously a player who has proven himself in the Premier League and Aston Villa have turned down fresh interest from West Ham.”
“West Ham are, I was told, prepared to pay £40m for Duran in this window – that was laughed at.”
“But if they have the money, Arsenal fans would probably agree that John Duran is exactly the type of player who can really help them win the title in the second half of the season.”