Chelsea are currently in talks with Aston Villa over a £25 million transfer of striker Jhon Duran, The Pitch Prospect has learned.
Villa boss Unai Emery is ready to offload Duran, who was close to a move to Stamford Bridge in January.
3
Mauricio Pochettino was keen to bring the 20-year-old to West London to compete with Nicolas Jackson at the top.
And the new head coach Enzo Maresca is also an admirer of the Colombian international, who only moved to the Midlands in January 2023 for an initial fee of £14.75 million.
Duran – who was also courted by West Ham in the new year – often played second fiddle to Ollie Watkins at Villa Park, which limited his playing time.
He failed to find the net in his first six months at Villa, while scoring five Premier League goals in the 2023/24 season.
He was also able to score three times in Europe.
His best performance for Villa came last month, when he scored twice as a substitute against Liverpool to earn his side a vital point in a six-goal thriller that put Emery’s side fourth above Tottenham.
Chelsea are looking for a new centre-forward after Benjamin Sesko decided to stay at RB Leipzig for at least another year.
And this has led to the Blues rekindling their interest in Duran as they look to capitalise on Villa’s financial situation.
3
3
In an effort to comply with profit and sustainability rules, Villa are expected to offload a number of key players this summer.
This is because the club has a loss of £119 million on its balance sheet up to 31 May 2023.
Duran could be one of numerous players Villa part with this summer as AC Milan attempt to sign Matty Cash for £20 million.
Meanwhile, The Pitch Prospect has learned that Juventus are hoping to complete a two-player plus cash transfer for Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz.