Gabriel Agbonlahor has shared the one reservation he has about Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran amid reported interest from Chelsea.
Aston Villa youngster Jhon Duran, who’s just 20, is strongly rumoured with a potential move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed via his YouTube channel on Wednesday that Chelsea and Villa are in discussions over the possible transfer of Duran. Apparently, the Colombian centre-forward is “super keen” on a move to West London during this summer transfer window.
Gabriel Agbonlahor shares worrying concern
TalkSPORT pundit and former Aston Villa player Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that he’s a big admirer of Duran as a footballer.
However, he’s heard worrying noise that the 20 year old striker has sometimes been a problem at Villa Park behind the scenes. It’s been suggested that the South American star hasn’t coped well playing second fiddle to Ollie Watkins as the back-up forward.
Agbonlahor told talkSPORT: “I think when Duran has come on he’s effected the game. He can hold the ball up. He can score goals. He’s aggressive, quick as well.
“But I’ve heard there’s been problems sometimes in training and maybe with him soaking that he’s not starting. He’s not going to be guaranteed with Ollie Watkins your main man all season £20m-£35m for Duran… Villa have to sell. We have to generate money before the end of June.”
Would Jhon Duran start for Chelsea?
From what we’ve seen of Villa’s young attacker, he’s not ready to go straight into Chelsea starting XI if he joins the club next season. Instead, he’d be decent competition and cover for Nicolas Jackson, especially with the extra fixtures that will come with the UEFA Conference League.
He scored 8 goals in 37 Villa appearances last campaign, which is a fairly decent return considering he was the second striker. However, his game is still very raw and needs a lot of work.
If he’s not getting regular starts like we predict, will Duran grow frustrated and cause issues? These are all factors for the club’s recruitment team to weigh up.