Arsenal have begun discussions over signing a player from Aston Villa – and former Gunners boss, Unai Emery.
The north Londoners looked uninspired in defeat away to Bournemouth at the weekend, with William Saliba seeing red in the first half. Manager Mikel Arteta struggled to defend his team afterwards, who showed very little attacking intent across the 90 minutes.
But with Arsenal looking towards an Aston Villa star who as many as 40 clubs covet, Arteta might be about to fix a long-held issue with his side.
Arsenal look to Jhon Duran to unlock potential in front of goal
Arsenal have long been linked with a striker to support first-choice No.9 Kai Havertz up front. Dusan Vlahovic was the latest to be linked this week, while Florian Wirtz has been touted as a multifunctional forward to join the frontline.
Now, however, Colombian outlet AS has revealed Arteta's interest in Villa superstar, Jhon Duran, with Sport Witness claiming Arsenal have “made contact” over the signing.
Duran has made his name this season as a super-sub for Emery, enjoying a purple patch that saw him score against Bayern Munich in the Champions League earlier this season. More often than not, Duran has replaced Ollie Watkins in the centre-forward pairing, rather than Morgan Rogers, who has also produced sparkling form this campaign.
With the 20-year-old Duran emerging as one of the standout young forwards in the division, Arsenal's proposal is intriguing. FourFourTwo understands that Arteta still values Havertz as an attacking midfielder who could play behind another conventional No.9.
Ranked at no.9 in FourFourTwo's list of the best strikers in the world right now, Havertz has been a palpable hit at the Emirates Stadium – but Arsenal have lacked a clinical edge in front of goal at times.
Duran would certainly give them that, but in FourFourTwo's opinion, this move is a non-starter for a number of reasons.
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The report states that Villa have set Duran's asking price at €85-90 million – which is far more than Arsenal would likely be willing to pay for a player who is still relatively unproven.
Duran is still very young. Arteta has seemed hesitant to spend big, unless it's on talent with a consistent and obvious track record, eschewing the option to sign Alexander Isak while at Real Sociedad while signing the likes of Havertz and Declan Rice for big fees. There's no indication that Villa would even sell Duran, either, given that he's become a key part of Unai Emery's plans and is playing Champions League football in the Midlands right now.
The Colombian is worth €35m, as per Transfermarkt. His contract runs until 2030.
