Aston Villa plan to let Jhon Duran go in January after upsetting Unai Emery

By Wayne Veysey

14th Nov, 2023 | 5:00pm

Sources: Aston Villa plan to let Jhon Duran go in January after upsetting Unai Emery

Aston Villa are planning to let John Duran go in January with a loan move most likely, sources have told Football Insider.

The £17million striker, 19, has struggled for game time this season and has fallen foul of manager Unai Emery.

Football Insider revealed on Sunday (12 November) that Duran is a “handful” for Emery and his staff behind the scenes at Aston Villa.

It is believed his attitude has been questioned by the manager on multiple occasions at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground.

It is believed Villa will listen to offers for the January 2023 signing in the upcoming window.

A loan move is most likely for the striker, who does not turn 20 until next month.

Duran has been the undisputed backup for star man Ollie Watkins since arriving – with the England international already notching 11 goals and five assists in 19 games this season.

The Colombia international has also lost his place in the international set-up for this month’s games against Brazil and Paraguay despite being called up by Los Cafeteros last month.

Duran has played just 68 minutes of Premier League action so far this season and has not featured in the top flight since 30 September.

The majority of his action in the 2023-24 campaign has come in the Europa Conference League – but he failed to appear in Villa’s most recent clash with AZ Alkmaar last week (9 November).

He has been limited to 305 minutes of football in 12 appearances across all competitions but has still managed to rack up four goals.

The ex-Chicago Fire man joined Aston Villa as the first signing of the Emery era earlier this year following an impressive stint in Major League Soccer.

Villa sit fifth in the Premier League after 12 games and are just three points adrift of league leaders Man City.

In other news, Aston Villa reach full agreement over behind the scenes deal.