West Ham United have made a huge bid worth £57m for Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran, according to various reports.
The Colombian striker has been on West Ham’s radar throughout the summer transfer window and looked at one stage to have his heart set on the London Stadium.
But after learning of Aston Villa’s then minimum asking price of £40mWest Ham went the other way with their deal and instead signed Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund.
Six months on and new West Ham head coach Graham Potter is down to just one recognized striker, Danny Ings, due to injuries to Fullkrug, captain Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, who was happy to escape with his life after being involved in a car accident before Christmas.
The Athletic report that West Ham have revived their interest in Duran, with a sensational £57m bid directed at the Champions League contenders. The bid is expected to be rejected, with Villa no longer keen to entertain offers for the lively 21-year-old.
Duran has scored seven Premier League goals for Villa this season, despite competing for playing time with Ollie Watkins in attack, and signed a new six-year contract in October as a reward for his exciting start to the season. His breakthrough under Unai Emery also saw him score a stunning winner in the an unforgettable 1-0 win over Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
West HamJoint top scorers are Tomas Soucek and Bowen with five goals, but the latter is currently sidelined after breaking his foot in a heavy 5-0 defeat at Premier League leaders Liverpool at the end of December.
Antonio is not expected to play again this season, while Fullkrug could be out of action for up to three months after picking up a hamstring injury in West Ham’s FA Cup third round defeat, ironically to Villa. The two meet again in Premier League on Sunday, after they met on the opening day of the season at the London Stadium – in a game which Duran scored Villa to a 2-1 victory.
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