Aston Villa think Unai Emery can turn Jhon Duran into a world-beater

By Ben Evans

Aston Villa believe that Unai Emery is the perfect manager to develop new signing Jhon Duran.

That’s according to The Athletic, who suggest that the club see Duran as a future ‘leading figure’ at Villa Park.

The £14.8m forward has just joined the club from MLS side Chicago Fire after a successful season in the USA.

A left-footed centre-forward, Duran is absolutely rapid, and is likely to cause teams who play with a high line plenty of problems.

The departure of Danny Ings has quickly promoted Duran up the pecking order at Villa.

Ollie Watkins found the back of the net at the weekend against Southampton.

It earned Unai Emery his fifth win in seven league games since replacing Steven Gerrard.

The Spanish coach is already making his impact on the Villa squad.

Duran is the second signing he’s made this month, with left-back Alex Moreno already making an impact in the Premier League.

Villa’s business may not be done yet, with the club very keen to sign Matteo Guendouzi this month.

Emery perfect manager for new Villa signing Duran

The Athletic’s report states that, ‘there’s excitement and anticipation that Duran can unlock his full potential in the Premier League.

‘It’s likely he will start as third in the pecking order behind Watkins and a more experienced new recruit Villa are planning to land before Tuesday’s deadline on Emery’s recommendation.

‘There’s no doubt, though, that Villa believe Duran can be a leading figure for the club in years to come and they see Emery as the perfect manager to bring that out of him.’

The 19-year-old is already a senior Colombia international, and made his senior club debut at the age of 15.

It would be asking a lot of Duran to hit the ground running in such a different environment to what he’s used to.

The step up between the Premier League and MLS is huge, and Villa play a very different style of play to Chicago Fire.

In the US, Duran was allowed to sit on the last man and break into space before challenging the goalkeeper one-on-one.

Emery does enjoy using quick players as part of his front line at Villa, and Duran could fit that mould.

But he will also need to work on link-up play, and bringing his teammates into the game.

Emery could be the perfect manager to develop Duran, having worked with plenty of young players before.

Duran will hope to follow in the footsteps of fellow Colombian Juan Pablo Angel at Villa Park.