Jhon Duran transfer update emerges at West Ham United amid Aston Villa exit speculation
West Ham United have not reached an agreement with Aston Villa to sign Jhon Duran this summer, according to Sean Whetstone.
Whetstone reported via the West Ham Football X account on Wednesday (24 July) that the Hammers do not want to be held to ransom by their rivals and may turn to alternative targets if no agreement is reached.
The two clubs have been arguing for weeks, but the Irons are not willing to meet the Villans’ £35million asking price and would prefer to structure the deal around performance-related clauses.
Duran remains a top target on Tim Steidten’s agenda, so a deal is not off the cards, but West Ham will only get it over the line if it can be completed on their terms.
Will West Ham United sign Jhon Duran amid summer transfer speculation?
The Hammers need a new number nine this summer and while a quality centre-forward was never going to come cheap, Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten won’t want to pay over the odds if they can avoid doing so.
Duran is an incredibly raw talent and while he has the potential to be worth every penny of that £35million fee, he hasn’t yet proven that he can be relied on as a regular starter week in and week out in the Premier League.
The Hammers are doing the right thing by standing by their valuation, but they cannot afford to wait around and see whether Villa drop their asking price.
If they waste too much time, they risk heading into next season with just Michail Antonio and Danny Ings as their striking options once again and that won’t be enough to climb up the league table under Lopetegui.
West Ham need to either fork out the money to get this deal done or move on to alternative targets, otherwise, this delay could well come back to bite them.
In other West Ham news, Manchester United need to sell one player linked with the London Stadium to complete a new transfer
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