West Ham United are interested in signing Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran and are ‘privately working’ on hijacking Chelsea’s deal for the forward, according to Give Me Sport.
The Blues have received the ‘green light’ to proceed with his transfer from Duran since last month but they have been unable to strike an agreement with Villa, thereby putting the proposed move on pause.
It appears West Ham are ready to take advantage of the situation to hijack Chelsea’s attempts to sign Duran as the report says they are working behind the scenes on a potential deal for the forward.
GMS adds that the Clarets would expect a fee in the £40 million region to part with the Colombian international, who scored five Premier League goals in three appearances last season.
Ollie Watkins has largely been Unai Emery’s go-to man for the number nine position and therefore, Duran’s playing time has been significantly limited but there remain little doubts over his qualities.
West Ham are still to make any formal moves for Duran but if they are ready to match Villa’s asking price for the 20-year-old, a move could culminate very quickly.
West Ham could sign up to two strikers
The Hammers might need to sign two strikers this summer as they plan for life after Michail Antonio whereas Danny Ings has also been linked with an exit.
Julen Lopetegui has remained keen on signing Alexander Sorloth from Villarreal and for a secondary option, the manager should not look far beyond Duran.
He is an excellent youngster with the potential to develop into one of the best strikers in the world. There is no denying the fact that his attributes still need some finetuning and thus, he may not be ready for a regular role in the starting eleven just yet.
Duran and Sorloth can work very well together as they will offer Lopetegui two separate profiles in the box. While the Norwegian has a physical presence and can dominate in front of goal, the Aston Villa starlet can use his pace and neat dribbling to wreak havoc against teams which play a higher defensive line.
It remains to be seen, however, if West Ham are ready to spend £70 million on just one position in the same transfer window as Sorloth will also cost close to £30 million. If not, the Villarreal ace’s arrival could pour water on Duran’s chances of joining.
