West Ham United now expected to seal 8-figure Jhon Duran transfer from Aston Villa
West Ham are now expected to complete a straight-cash permanent deal to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa, according to The Guardian.
A report on the paper’s website on 26 July says a £35million deal is on the cards with Tim Steidten pushing to get the move over the line.
Villa rejected a bid of £32m plus teenage midfielder Lewis Orford but are “happy” to sanction Duran’s sale as he is not seen as a key part of Unai Emery’s plans.
The Colombian had been identified by Steidten and Julen Lopetegui as the top striker target at the London Stadium this summer [The Athletic, 12 July].
Tim Steidten pushes to sign new West Ham striker
The Irons clearly need to add a new number one striker and it looks like they are now set to get one after negotiations throughout the transfer window.
It seems clear that the 20-year-old himself is in favour of the move as he was expected to tell Villa he wanted to head to the London Stadium [James Nursey, 22 July].
Lopetegui and Steidten will clearly hope that Duran can buck the trend of big-money strikers flopping once they join the Hammers but the fact that Emery is prepared to let him go might be a warning.
Michail Antonio can’t be expected to shoulder the load as the top striker any longer and Danny Ings has failed to establish himself at the club since he also arrived from Villa 18 months ago.
Playing Jarrod Bowen as a central forward robs the winger of his best position and Divin Mubama has gone so a signing needs to be made.
Whether Duran is the right option will only become clear in time but if the manager and the technical director have made the decision that he is then there is no time to lose to get it done.
Sky Sports had reported on 15 July that the pair had cooled their interest as they were ready to look at the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton.
But amid attempts to include Orford in the deal that position looks to have changed again and is seemingly set to result in a transfer success.
In other West Ham news, the Irons have turned back to signing a Premier League ace after seeing a transfer collapse.
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