A new claim have been made about West Ham United’s attempts to sign Jhon Duran in the summer, but this time from an Aston Villa perspective.
Jhon Duran would have been an exceptional signing for West Ham, what with his explosive pace, exceptional movement and incredible finishing ability.
The Hammers weren’t quite able to get a deal for the Aston Villa man over the line in the end, and it was claimed that the west Midlands outfit were demanding north of £40 million for the striker.
At one point, it seemed certain that Duran would join the Hammers from Aston Villa, after he did the ‘crossed hammers’ sign during a live stream.
In the end, Julen Lopetegui brought Niclas Fullkrug to the London Stadium from Borussia Dortmund instead.
The German is currently out injured, and we haven’t seen him at his best yet, so only time will tell as to whether he ends up being a good signing or not.
However, it’s clear to see that Duran was the one that got away. That said, a new claim about his price-tag may well make the West Ham fans think differently about missing out on him…
Stunning new Jhon Duran claim will make West Ham fans think differently
The Hammers fans are criticising Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten week in, week out right now due to their failure to bring Duran to East London.
The Villa hitman is scoring every week, and he’s doing so in sensational fashion as well.
Meanwhile, Fullkrug is in the treatment room. As things stand, it seems like the Hammers transfer team have made a big error.
However, some new information has just shed some light on the transfer saga.
Hammers insider Sean Whetstone claims that Villa sources have told him how much Duran would actually have cost in the summer.
And it might just make the fans think differently about the decision not to sign him.
He said, “Villa sources separately claim that their club’s valuation was £60m including add-ons together with a sell on cause and buy back clause.“
If true, that completely changes the narrative as far as I’m concerned.
We’ve missed the boat with Duran now, but if Villa really were asking for £60 million for him, I don’t blame the owners one little bit for refusing to pay that fee.
Duran out of West Ham’s range now
The sad thing for us is that it will be impossible to sign the Colombia international now.
And not just because of Villa’s new £80 million demands for him.
Duran has been in sensational form so far this season. He has bagged six goals in nine games for Villa this term, having played only 297 minutes of football!
As a result, he has emerged on the radars of all the top clubs in Europe. There is absolutely no way the Hammers will have a chance of signing him now.
Had West Ham brought Jhon Duran to the London Stadium in the summer, we would be flying right now in my opinion.
It wasn’t to be though, and in fairness to the club, I don’t blame them for refusing to pay £60 million for the South American.
Had he really been available for £40 million, then signing him would’ve been a no-brainer. However, £60 million is a serious lot of cash for someone who wasn’t entirely proven at the time.
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