In a recent interview with Villa News, pundit Alan Hutton offered his take on Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran. Hutton said,
“Ollie Watkins is taking a lot of the load and a lot of the pressure up there.
“I know there are a lot of people who can contribute around him but if anything was to happen to him like an injury or a loss of form – touch wood it doesn’t – Duran will be there. “He provides competition but he’s still very young and he’s still very raw.
“Is he capable of playing in the Premier League every week? I’m not so sure yet but then again, he’s not had that run of games for us to see.
“It would be good if Villa were to target another striker to come in and lighten that load for them.”
Duran’s Impressive Rise In English Football
Duran is having a decent season at Villa Park as he has produced some eye-catching displays for Unai Emery’s side in the final third. The South American youngster has scored four goals in 12 appearances for the West Midlands club during this campaign across various competitions.
The Ecuadorian striker has seen all of his game time come off the bench which explains why he is only averaging 0.8 shots, 0.2 key passes and 0.2 dribbles per 90 minutes in the Premier League. He has also been a bit careful when interchanging possession with his teammates based on his pass completion rate of 72.4% in the top tier of English football (stats via whoscored).
Does Duran Have A Future At Aston Villa?
Duran can create some space for himself to get some strikes in at goal. He can chip in by scoring some crucial goals for his side and is a decent dribbler with the ball as well.
Standing at 1.85m, the Ecuadorian sensation can use his strength to hold possession up for his team but needs to work on improving his link-up play on the offensive end of the pitch.
Duran is currently serving as an ideal understudy to Ollie Watkins at Villa Park. Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has shown his faith on the youngster by offering him a chance to shine off the bench.
With all things considered, Duran has a very bright future ahead of him at the West Midlands club. However, the Villans should still consider adding a fresh face to their attack so that they can reduce the offensive workload of Duran and Watkins this winter.
