West Ham have made a hefty bid worth £57m for Aston Villa striker John Duran, according to various reports.
The Colombian striker has been on West Ham’s radar throughout the summer transfer window and looked at one stage to have his heart set on a move to the London Stadium.
But then learning of Aston Villa’s then minimum asking price of £40mWest Ham went in another direction with their business and instead signed Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund.
Six months on and new West Ham manager Graham Potter is down to established striker Danny Ings due to injuries to Fulcrug, captain Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, who was lucky to escape with his life after being involved in a car accident before Christmas.
The Athlete report that West Ham have rekindled their interest in Duran, with an eye-watering £57m bid submitted to the Champions League contenders. It is expected that the bid will be rejected, with Villa no longer keen to bid for the lively 21-year-old.
Duran has scored seven Premier League goals for Villa this season despite battling for minutes with Ollie Watkins up front, and signed a new six-year contract in October as a reward for his electrifying start to the season. His achievement under Unai Emery also saw him score a stunning winner in one memorable 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
West HamTomas Sucek and Bowen top scorers with five goals, but the latter is currently sidelined after breaking his leg in the heavy 5-0 defeat by 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 picking up a hamstring injury in West Ham’s FA Cup third round defeat, ironically by Villa. The two meet again at Premier League on Sunday, having met on the opening day of the season at the London Stadium – a game in which Duran scored on goal Villa for the 2-1 win.
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2025-01-20 21:30:00
