What Aston Villa players were saying about Jhon Duran during the summer amid £32m West Ham bid

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Jhon Duran is the man of the moment at Aston Villa – after a dramatic summer in which he almost joined West Ham.

The Colombia international was the subject of a £32m bid from the Hammers – who also offered Lewis Orford in the deal – but it was not enough for the Villans to accept.

Duran actually wanted to join West Ham – even posting a video of himself making the irons gesture – put has responded with six goals in nine appearances to kickstart the 2024/25 campaign in fine fashion, helping Aston Villa sit fifth as the east Londoners trail in 14th.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	6	5	0	1	12	2	10	15
2	Man CityManchester City	6	4	2	0	14	6	8	14
3	ArsenalArsenal	6	4	2	0	12	5	7	14
4	ChelseaChelsea	6	4	1	1	15	7	8	13
5	Aston VillaAston Villa	6	4	1	1	12	9	3	13
6	FulhamFulham	6	3	2	1	8	5	3	11
7	NewcastleNewcastle	6	3	2	1	8	7	1	11
8	TottenhamTottenham	6	3	1	2	12	5	7	10
9	BrightonBrighton	6	2	3	1	10	8	2	9
10	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	6	2	3	1	6	5	1	9
11	B’mouthBournemouth	6	2	2	2	8	9	-1	8
12	BrentfordBrentford	6	2	1	3	8	10	-2	7
13	Man UtdManchester United	6	2	1	3	5	8	-3	7
14	West HamWest Ham	6	1	2	3	6	10	-4	5

Now – after Jhon Duran scored the winner against Bayern Munich on Wednesday – The Athletic have revealed what his Aston Villa teammates were saying amid interest from West Ham.

Aston Villa players thought Jhon Duran to West Ham was done

It is claimed that the South American’s Aston Villa teammates believed the striker was definitely moving to the London Stadium during the summer transfer window.

It certainly seemed that way at one stage, with Duran growing frustrated at Villa Park as Unai Emery preferred Ollie Watkins in the starting XI, despite an excellent goalscoring return from very few starts.

The Colombian impressively netted five goals in just three Premier League starts last season.

West Ham surely have no chance of signing Duran anymore

Emery will surely be delighted that he ended up keeping the 20-year-old in the Midlands, as the man from Medellin is quickly turning into a superstar.

Even Manuel Neuer praised Duran after Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 on Wednesday.

In our view, the ship has now sailed for West Ham, who will surely be kicking themselves after missing out on the Aston Villa No.9 during the summer.

Furthermore, Chelsea are huge admirers of Duran, so if he was to leave Villa Park, you would imagine he would prefer a move to Stamford Bridge over the London Stadium.

Ultimately – if an exit did happen – Aston Villa now stand to make a lot more than the £32m West Ham offered, to say the least.