Aston Villa

Aston Villa now has a specific interest in signing a “world-class” striker to replace Jhon Duran this summer and may have to meet a £50m fee, but there may be competition from Arsenal.

Aston Villa pursues forward in place of Duran

Duran moved to Al-Nassr for £65m late in the January transfer window, the 21-year-old has made a solid start in life in Saudi Arabia, scoring four goals in many league matches.

While the big currency move will ease some of Villa’s PSR problems, the striker’s departure has allowed Unai Emery to illuminate the attack options slightly and now evaluate potential replacements ahead of the summer transfer window.

Atalanta’s Mateo retegui is one of the choices for the prolific Italians in Serie A this season, and Villas is also believed to be strengthening their pursuit of FC Porto’s Samu Omorodion Aghehowa, who is surpassing the Ollie Watkins.

Aston Villa is also keen on signing Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic, who now looks increasingly likely to leave the Italian club at the end of the season, according to a report by TeamTalk.

Negotiations on the new deal have not made progress, meaning Vlahovic can seek relocation elsewhere, and given that manager Mikel Arteta takes him in particular, it is unlikely that there will be a lack of suitors, and Arsenal is keen.

The Villas also seriously considered the forward’s approach, which will be brought into Duran, although they have not yet asked any formal inquiries.

If the Premier League finally decides to bid on the Juventus man, then £50 million is enough to close the deal.

“World-class” Vlahovic may be the ideal Duran alternative

Although Watkins was always the first choice, Duran’s departure was a huge loss given the impact the Colombians had from the bench, Vlahovic showed a lot of signs that might be the right replacement.

Given his age, the 25-year-old has more experience than Duran at the highest level, scoring six goals in 16 Champions Leagues, while he also had a record of 86 goals and 14 assists in his 193 Serie A game, including nine in the semester.

Serie A journalist Siavoush Fallahi has praised the former Fiorentine man as “world class” in the past, and his goal record shows that he may have the ability to push the Watkins starting position.

That said, there are signs that the above-mentioned reflection island could be a better signing, as the two strikers are of the same age, and Atalanta Marksman has already quite a lot of Vlahovic this season, packing 21 Serie A goals.