A year and a half ago, he was paid almost 17,000,000 euros, so even though he spent his time at Aston Villa in the shadow of Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran could soon make a new, twice as expensive transfer to West Ham.The London club decided to break the bank for the still unproven 20-year-old Colombian striker from Villa Park in the hope that his arrival will solve the burning issue. The initial news from the ‘island’ was that the Hammers offered 35,000,000 euros, only to raise the stake to 38,000,000 euros a few hours later, including central midfielder Lewis Orford (18) from the youth academy, and promised a percentage of the next sale, all to come close to the Birmingham club’s 47,000,000 asking price!And all that for a reserve striker!##NAJAVA_MECA_8237053##Since arriving from Chicago Fire in January 2023, Duran has played 49 games for Villa, of which he started only nine, scoring only eight goals. He couldn’t fight for more serious minutes next to Watkins, but despite that, he was on the price in the previous period as well. Chelsea inquired about him, West Ham also wanted him this winter, but Villa rejected a loan offer with an option to buy.However, now the deal is close to being realized. The footballer has already agreed on the personal terms of a five-year cooperation with the Hammers, and reportedly the negotiations between the clubs are at an advanced stage, so Julen Lopetegui could soon receive the necessary reinforcements in the attack.In the last five years alone, the London club “wasted” a total of 100,000,000 euros on the strikers. Wasted, because neither Sebastian Haller nor Gianluca Scamacca nor Danny Ings justified the invested money, the two first-mentioned left the club in the meantime, so during the last season Jarrod Bowen often had to play as the most attacking player. If there is no great turnaround in the negotiations with Aston Villa, he will no longer have to.West Ham are considering another IMPROVED offer for Jhon Duran, with Aston Villa holding out for £40m for the striker.(via @standardsport) pic.twitter.com/5OSw0VgUTb— West Ham Fan Zone (@WHUFCFZ) July 26, 2024
