According to The Times sports writer Gary Jacob, Chelsea are considering a late move for Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran.
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They were given permission to speak to him by Aston Villa after making a ยฃ40m offer in June. They would be willing to offer players as part of the deal but are also looking at and Evan Ferguson.
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Chelsea's summer spending spree
Having been close to striking a deal earlier in the window it appears Chelsea are seriously considering going back in for the Colombian forward to add to their already congested squad. Chelsea have signed 14 players already this summer including Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Villa youngster Omari Kellyman to a total cost in the region of ยฃ220 million.
Despite making a huge number of signings the Blues don't feel that they have strengthened their options in the forward area. Nicolas Jackson remains their only recognised forward with Premier League experience with others such as Armando Broja and David Fofana are not seen as part of Enzo Maresca's plans.
What could the deal mean for Villa?
According to Jacob, Chelsea could be willing to offload players of their own as part of a deal that would see Duran head to Stamford Bridge.
Following the news that Aston Villa's primary transfer target Lutsharel Geertruida is close to signing for RB Leipzig, the club are short of numbers in defence. Matty Cash is set to be side-lined for the next few weeks leaving just 18-year-old Kosta Nedeljkovic at right-back.
Therefore, Villa could be looking to bring in a defender such as Trevoh Chalobah who has been exiled out of the Chelsea squad by new boss Maresca. Chalobah has a wealth of Premier League experience and could play at centre-back and right-back.
Fans have called for the likes of Noni Madueke to be included as part of a potential deal as well in order to replace the forward Villa would be losing, but that is highly unlikely.
Can Villa afford to lose Duran?
Jhon Duran has had a whirlwind of a summer. Having been close to a move to Stamford Bridge at the beginning of the window it was then almost guaranteed weeks later that he would become a West Ham United player. West Ham held a strong interest in the 20-year-old but were unwilling to meet the ยฃ40 million valuation set by Villa and they opted to sign Germany forward Niclas Fullkrug instead.
West Ham would go on to rue that decision as it was Duran himself who scored the winning goal for Villa at West Ham on the opening day of the season. Duran certainly proved his worth and showed the fans how good a player he could be.
With only Jhon Duran and Ollie Watkins in the forwards department, an exit for Duran this late in the window could prove a bitter blow for the club. Duran is a top-quality forward and there isn't many in Europe that possesses his ability at such a young age.
Should Duran leave Villa, it would be down to Ollie Watkins to lead the line week-in-week-out in the Premier League and Champions League. Despite his positive injury record, that will be a huge number of games for one forward to play and should he get injured then Villa would be left with no other forwards in the squad.
UTV