Jhon Duran was heavily linked with a move from Aston Villa to West Ham United earlier on in the transfer window.
And now those rumours have resurfaced, suggesting that West Ham are still in the hunt to sign Jhon Duran.
So, could Jhon Duran really swap Villa Park for the London Stadium before the transfer window slams shut?
Julen Lopetegui brought Niclas Fullkrug to the London Stadium earlier this summer, but West Ham need to bring in more competition and cover for the German.
Danny Ings and Michail Antonio are not good enough to play regularly if Fullkrug is forced to miss a large chunk of games.
Lopetegui has to address that problem, and the West Ham boss is said to be trying to get Ings out the door as soon as possible, with Leeds apparently interested in signing him.
So if the 32-year-old is sold to Leeds, maybe some salary space will be freed up for the Hammers to make another signing.
Could that man be Duran though?
Percentage chance of Jhon Duran joining West Ham
The Villa striker caused huge controversy earlier this summer, when he did the ‘crossed Hammers’ sign on a live stream, amidst links with West Ham.
He clearly though he was joining the Hammers, but that didn’t happen in the end due to Villa’s £40 million demands.
West Ham then went on to sign Fullkrug, and the rest is history.
Or is it? There may well be some life in the Duran to West Ham story yet…
Hammers insider Sean Whetstone took to his X account last night to provide an update on the Duran transfer saga.
He shared the percentage chance of the Villa man joining West Ham this summer.
He said, “West Ham have the smallest of chances of signing Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran before the end of the summer transfer window. A club source rated the chances around 1% adding we have no slots, no money and are having no luck offloading fringe players. Michail Antonio and Danny Ings would probably need to leave for this to have the remoteness possibility.“
Jhon Duran just what we need
I like Fullkrug a lot, and I think the German is perfectly suited to Premier League football and Lopetegui’s system.
However, one thing the 31-year-old doesn’t have is pace. Sometimes, speed is required in certain games, i.e when we’re forced to play a low block against one of the top teams in the league and are relying on hitting them on the counter-attack.
This is why I think Duran would be such an excellent signing for the Hammers.
He possesses blistering pace and has an explosive spring. His movement is exceptional and he has a rocket of a shot on him.
Jhon Duran is a completely different player to Fullkrug, and he would provide West Ham head coach Lopetegui with the option of playing with real tactical flexibility.
If he’s available in the last few days of the window on loan with an obligation to buy him next summer, the Hammers cannot refuse that chance.
The young Colombian has so much talent and potential, and I have no doubts that he’d be absolutely sensational for us.
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