Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was 'never close' to joining Chelsea in the January transfer window, according to reporter Fabrizio Romano.
The Colombia international, who has eight caps under his belt so far in his career, was linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge earlier this winter but nothing materialised in the end.
Duran has been on the books at Villa Park since 2022 and has since made 36 appearances for the Midlands outfit in all competitions, chipping in with five goals, all of which have come this season.
'Never close'...
Romano has cleared up the picture regarding talk of Chelsea being interested in him. The journalist has told CaughtOffside: “Jhon Duran was another name linked with Chelsea back in January, but the move was never close.
“At the moment I’m not aware of concrete contacts, he’s just one of many players they considered and discussed but it never led to a proper negotiation with Villa. He’s fully focused on Villa now, no one else.”
Prior to his move to Aston Villa, Duran played in America for Chicago Fire and broke into the first-team of the MLS outfit as a youngster.
He went on to play 28 matches and fired in eight goals before his move to England came about.
The attacker could still be a key player for Unai Emery in the future. He is still only 20-years-old and has the potential to grow and develop down the line.
Duran is still quite raw and letting him leave could have come back to bite.