Aston Villa news: Jhon Duran set for move to Saudi Arabia as Villans reject Arsenal approach for Ollie Watkins
Aston Villa strikers Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran have both been linked with late moves away from the club this January.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Watkins was subject to a £60million bid from Arsenal – just hours before Villa’s Champions League tie with Celtic, in which Watkins scored in a 4-2 victory at Villa Park – sealing Aston Villa’s qualification to the knockout stages.
However, fellow striker Duran is set to leave the club to join Saudi Pro League side, Al-Nassr, for a fee in the region of €77million – according to Romano.
Duran was an unused substitute in Wednesday night’s victory.
How does Duran’s move impact Villa?
With the Colombian international seemingly set to leave Villa Park, this leaves Watkins as the only natural centre forward in the Villans squad.
Despite this, Villa manager Unai Emery did not seem to be too disheartened by the 21-year-old’s departure.
He said: “If Jhon Duran is leaving it is good money for us because they are paying good money.
“We have developed good players in two years and getting a good offer.
“I told you after West Ham, I want Jhon here. But what does he want?”.
Duran joined Aston Villa in a deal worth just £18million in January 2023 from MLS side Chicago Fire.
He has gone on to score 20 goals in 78 appearances, however, just 16 of those appearances were starts – making his goal return very impressive relative to how many minutes he has played.
The deal would no doubt leave the West Midlands club very thin in striker options, however, they would be very well compensated by his departure.
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Watkins’ potential move to North London
Aston Villa have rejected Arsenal’s £60million bid for Ollie Watkins, with the club said to be unhappy at the timing of the Gunners approach.
Mikel Arteta’s side are desperate for quality and depth in attacking areas to push for silverware this season and in the future.
The England international has scored 80 goals in 203 games for the Villans since arriving from Brentford in September 2020.
No player has made more appearances (111) for Villa under Emery than Watkins, who is very keen to keep his centre-forward this window.
The Spaniard said: “I don’t want Ollie Watkins to leave, he’s our striker.
“It is good news to have offers from other clubs, but we have our sporting targets.
“So to get this deal done we’re going to be demanding. Watkins is our striker.”
The Englishman is both Villa’s top scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals and their top provider with five league assists.
What could the Duran fee do for Villa?
With Aston Villa set to receive a fee of £64.5million for Duran, this would allow Villa to further strengthen their squad to push for European football again next season and go as far as possible in the Champions League.
A central defender has been on the club’s radar, with injuries to Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings, as well as the sale of Diego Carlos to Turkish side Fenerbahçe – Villa are lacking depth in that area.
According to Romano, Chelsea centre-back Axel Disasi has agreed personal terms with the club ahead of a potential loan move until the end of the season.
The Frenchman would offer great competition and depth in the right centre-back position, competing with Ezri Konsa.
However, Villa must also try and find a replacement for Duran to add depth and quality behind Watkins.
It is understood that Villa have contacted Bayern Munich regarding young starlet Mathys Tel, who is set to depart the German giants this window.
The West Midlands club have also been linked with Chelsea forward Joao Felix and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha – the latter being linked away this month after strong comments from manager Vitor Pereira after Wolves’ 3-1 loss to Chelsea.
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