Jhon Duran…

Rozay

Master of Hindsight
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Oct 22, 2012
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Been talking about him on here for a while. I’m a huge fan, best young centre forward in the PL for me. I couldn’t understand why it seemed like Villa were happy to sell him this summer, if it came down to it, I’d rather con someone out of £80m odd for Watkins than sell him for £40m.

He has big personality and self-confidence, which is one of the first things I look for in a young striker. Not all strikers play as if they KNOW they are good and take every shot as if they mean it rather than apologetically. Others can do so up unto a point, but as the stage gets bigger, the belief gets smaller. With Duran, he takes winning goals, goals against top teams as if he means it.

We are stocked in his position, but he’d be a shrewd signing for a team like Chelsea or Arsenal, although I suspect the cat might be fully out of the bag by next summer based on how he’s started the season, and the price won’t be £40m next time.
 
He’s a total enigma this one. Massive talent but wildly inconsistent. Not the player the manager relies on to implement a game plan and do the consistent dirty work of pressing from the front and running the channels, but an absolute wild card to bring off the bench and change the game. He has all the tools to be a top striker. He’s quick, he’s big, he’s very technical, and he has a viscous shot.

Given his performances, it is surprising that Villa were looking to offload him. Seems bizarre given how many crucial goals he’s scored for them, but I think it’s a combination of PSR concerns and all the rumours surrounding his off field attitude and application in training. Apparently there are a lot of questions surrounding his professionalism.

All that aside, going from a fans view, just judging what you see on the field, he’s fantastic. Almost guarantees a goal off the bench. And can score in pretty much every way, so when he’s brought on, there is no preset game plan for how to stop him. He’s very unpredictable. Might get in there for a towering header, or might lash one in from 35 yards. Defenders nightmare.

Be interesting to see how he develops this season. Good for Villa that they have a genuine rotation option for Watkins, so much so that Watkins has to genuinely keep his form up to retain his place. That’s how good Duran has looked. Should help them with their CL campaign and keeping Watkins fresh.
 
Why have Villa been so desperate to get rid of him? He seemingly scores every time he’s allowed onto the pitch.
 
Durán and Olise at Chelsea, with Palmer behind at #10...could've been something.
 
WeePat said:
Why have Villa been so desperate to get rid of him? He seemingly scores every time he’s allowed onto the pitch.
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More he was playing up behind the scenes a bit after hardly playing in 23-24. Start of last season he started with 4 in 6 games and Ollie didn't score any so think he was expecting to start Chelsea away in September. It didn't happen, Ollie scored the winner and a hat trick the next game and he didn't start a prem game until March.

McGinn referenced some stuff end of last season about his attitude around the changing room aswell but seems the penny has dropped after the failed moves and we sold Archer instead to pay the PSR bills. Will be going right to the top with the finishes he's producing currently.
 
The power he generated from a standing position is unreal. Don't think I've seen a similar goal before.
 
3 goals in just over 100 minutes from the bench this season. Really curious to see him start a run of games to assess what impact he’d have as, thus far, he’s still an unknown quantity in that aspect. For me he’s one of the most exciting prospects the Premier League has right now.
 
Duran is only 20 and Rogers (an enigma) is only 22. Villa have struck gold. If they upgrade McGinn etc they could be a great watch and champions league contenders for years to come and look a much better team than Newcastle or Spurs.
 
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