Jhon Duran is perfect Michail Antonio upgrade for West Ham United after new transfer update
West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui has a new priority in the summer transfer window and that is securing a new centre-forward.
For several seasons now, the Irons have been reliant on Michail Antonio to lead the line week in and week out and it would be naive of them to assume that the Jamaican international can continue in that role.
The 34-year-old had another reasonable season in the Premier League last term, scoring six goals in 21 starts, but he wasn’t able to stay fit and firing for the entirety of the campaign much to David Moyes’ detriment.
Luckily, Lopetegui and Tim Steidten are already considering new options to take over the mantle at the top end of the pitch with Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran understood to be their primary candidate [Evening Standard, 9 July].
The 20-year-old Colombian international, who joined the Villans from MLS side Chicago Fire, managed to score five Premier League goals for Unai Emery’s side last term, despite only starting three league games, according to Fotmob.
In total, Duran only played 462 minutes of Premier League football and therefore averaged a goal every 92.4 minutes, compared to Antonio’s record of a goal in every 285 minutes of league football.
Like Antonio, Duran also led Villa’s frontline in Europe, starting four games in the Europa Conference League and scoring two goals as Emery’s Villans made it to the semi-final where they lost to Olympiacos.
When compared to forwards in the Premier League last season, the Colombian striker places in the 99th percentile for non-penalty goals scored per 90 minutes, with an average of 0.95, according to Fbref.
Unlike Antonio, the 20-year-old has a clinical edge when inside the penalty area as well and he massively overperformed in his average of 0.38 non-penalty xG produced per game.
Few strikers in the division are as willing to attempt to test the opposition keeper as Duran who places in the top nine per cent of his positional peers for shots taken per 90 minutes and the top 17 per cent for shots on target.
In comparison, Antonio lies in the bottom three per cent for shots taken per 90 minutes and the bottom 13 per cent for shots on target as he very rarely actually takes aim at the opposition goal.
Will Aston Villa sell Jhon Duran to West Ham United amid transfer speculation?
So much of what makes Antonio important to West Ham’s style however is his work off of the ball and out-of-possession.
But in his brief appearances for Villa, Duran has shown he can play that way.
The Colombian places in the 93rd percentile for his peers for tackles won per 90 minutes in the Premier League and the 83rd for dribblers challenged. He’s not afraid to get stuck in and help his side at both ends of the field.
He can also offer a physical presence to help his side move up the field quickly. Antonio’s hold-up play and work with his back to goal has helped the Irons get the best out of the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen.
Duran sits in the top 11 per cent of the league’s forwards for aerials won per match, with an average of 3.79 every 90 minutes and boasts an impressive 62.5 per cent win rate when it comes to aerial battles.
That places the Villa striker in the top three per cent of his positional peers and is a figure much higher than Antonio’s 38.4 per cent success rate.
Is Julen Lopetegui close to any new summer transfers?
This won’t be a cheap transfer for the Hammers to get over the line, but with personal terms already agreed and a £35million bid submitted, West Ham may have finally found their Antonio replacement [Fabrizio Romano, 9 July].
His brief cameo against Liverpool at the end of the season showed exactly what sort of all-action forward the Irons would be getting as he scored twice from an xG of just 0.4.
That display saw Emery label him a “special” player [John Towley, 13 May] and it seems obvious that he would be the perfect fit at the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers’ stance on a summer move for Eddie Nketiah has emerged amid links with a move away from Arsenal
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