“Hopefully we can be together with Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran for 10 years,” laughed Unai Emery. “Maybe 12 years, maybe 15!”.
Aston Villa manager Emery had become accustomed to answering questions about their strikers’ ability to co-exist. He would detail how he was working on finding a “solution” to integrate both in the Villa team.
The sentiment was that the squad needed time to practice. Not quite a decade, as Emery said facetiously, but the “idea” was to keep Duran and Watkins together as team-mates long-term.
But all that was a fortnight ago.
Now Duran, who arrived from Chicago Fire of MLS in January 2023 for £14.75million ($18.3m), potentially rising by another £3m, has joined Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, and Arsenal have made an approach for Watkins.
In reality, Villa knew they were approaching a definitive juncture. Sources who, like others in this piece, spoke to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, accepted keeping two elite No 9s was unsustainable. Something — or someone — had to give.
Emery’s levity and tone shifted following the 4-2 home win against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday night. He was now answering questions about his strikers, again, and doing so with an increased weariness.
“You know my opinion on him (Duran),” he said. “A fantastic potential player. I was always trying to get him with my advice. I was so, so close with him, trying to work with him for his development.
“But the player has their own objective, (their) ambition. I told you last week, I wanted him here. But what does he want?”.
When Emery was preparing for the visit of Celtic, Al Nassr were deciding whether to sign Duran or fellow striker Victor Boniface from Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen. Just as Morgan Rogers scored his second goal at that decisive Champion League fixture, The Athletic revealed Duran was set to undergo a medical on Thursday before finalising a move to the Riyadh club worth €77million (£64.3m, $79.9m) plus more in potential add-ons.
GO DEEPER
Uncertainty gripped the futures of Duran and Watkins – Rogers stepped forward
Three hours earlier, speculation rattled around Watkins’ future, a situation that deeply angered Villa’s senior figures. They had rebuffed Arsenal’s interest two days earlier yet it only filtered into public domain on the evening of that crucial league-phase finale. Villa sources believed the timing of the leak had the potential to unsettle the player.
Duran was the more advancing issue, however. Villa had secured their round-of-16 passage in the Champions League and yet, strangely, there were few questions about them having done so. Instead, media attention dialled in on the Colombia international and reached a point where a Villa staff member had to intervene and stop any further questions.
Even though Villa had been adamant for most of January that Duran was not for sale, a sense of doubt endured. For the right price, he was available and recruitment circles and interested parties knew this. Villa had reiterated they were not afraid to sell players, accepting it was par for the course in the era of profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).
The substantial fee received for Duran will lessen the pressure for Villa to sell key players in this year’s summer window, such as midfielder Boubacar Kamara, while providing scope to pursue Chelsea forward Joao Felix.
Villa sources stated that, if Duran had wanted to stay, they would have been firmer in their desire to keep him. The young striker, however, had agreed personal terms with Al Nassr — just as he had done with fellow Premier League side West Ham United last summer — which represented a significant salary hike for him, even if they are not the outlandish figures initially associated with Saudi football’s shopping spree at European clubs.
Emery was heavily invested in Duran’s development (Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
Throughout Duran’s two years at Villa and his several transgressions, Emery had been cordial in answering the disproportionate number of questions about him. Yet there was a breaking point.
Duran’s future was eternally under discussion and Emery, along with his trusted small circle of aides, felt there was no more rope left to extend to him.
Speak to those who know Duran and they will describe a young man who is still maturing and has struggled to learn English, which has, perhaps, contributed to how he was viewed at Villa. Observers close to the dressing room and the player say he could be gregarious at his most comfortable, smiling and making innocent jokes, but at other times, was aloof.
Even if he was not overly communicative — in part due to the language barrier — Duran could often be seen walking around Bodymoor Heath, Villa’s training ground, or out of stadiums after matches, with his headphones on and singing to himself.
“He’s a very lively kid,” midfielder Amadou Onana told reporters in August last year. “He’s still taking (English) lessons. We’re trying to help him.”
Friends and coaches, including Emery, learned to be patient — in some ways indulging him.
“Big Jhon… he’s a bit nuts,” Villa captain John McGinn said to UK broadcaster Sky Sports late last season after Duran came off the bench to score twice in a 3-3 home draw against Liverpool. “He’s a nightmare sometimes to have in your team. But he has moments of quality.”
Duran after his heroics against Liverpool last season (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
“He can be one of the best strikers in the world,” Villa’s Argentina international goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez told the BBC. “But he needs to keep his feet on the ground and work hard.”
Emery was similarly convinced by Duran the more he worked with him.
Those close to the Spaniard say he became protective of the player publicly, accepting his flaws in the knowledge that if he could “put him on the right track”, his potential was extraordinary. Emery saw a precocious talent with supreme athleticism, strength and technique. “He is a jewel,” said one member of staff in the summer.
That skill set had to be refined, though.
Some observers noted how it would be difficult to anticipate how effective Villa’s game plans would be when Duran played, given he would not always heed instructions, both in and out of possession. This was not a case of him not wanting to follow Emery’s strategy, but more about whether he was concentrating and disciplined enough.
During games, Emery would frantically point for him to stay centrally or, when defending, to close the space on the edge of the box. Team-mates would show obvious signs of irritation at his lack of pressing.
Villa hoped Duran would follow a plan of steady progression, culminating in him either supplanting Watkins, who is eight years older, as their starting forward or being sold for £100million.
The polarising views of Villa compared to those of Duran and his representatives never went away, despite the player signing a new contract until 2030 last October. In Duran’s mind, he yearned to be the talisman now; more minutes, games, goals and money. Or as Emery said last season, “he wants everything so quick”.
Emery made concerted efforts to keep a lid on Duran’s stardom. This deeply frustrated the South American who, even with Watkins’ goalscoring numbers, believed he was already a better striker than the England international.
Last summer, Villa team-mates were under the impression Duran would move to West Ham. His representatives, including agent Jonathan Herrera, flew over from Colombia for talks with the club in July after his client arrived back later than others for pre-season following his involvement in Copa America.
Previously, Chelsea were especially keen before the June 30 financial deadline, when Villa were under pressure to comply with PSR. Milan kept a watchful eye, and, according to senior club figures, “more than 40 teams” registered an interest, with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund among them.
West Ham showed the most intent. They had an offer of £32million ($42.5m), plus their 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Orford, rejected. Duran spoke to ESPN Deportes about hoping to move to one of the “big teams”.
Duran scored the winner against West Ham on the opening weekend of the season – a club he wanted to join in the summer (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
After Duran pushed to leave, Villa’s triangle of power held several conversations to get him back on side. His shirt number got changed from No 20 to No 9, a telling gesture that suggested Emery regarded him as a key player. The manager explained to Duran that he would begin introducing him into games earlier, and give him more frequent starts.
Two months later, Duran signed a five-and-a-half-year contract, ensuring his happiness and that his wages fell in line with market expectations. Until that point, the then 20-year-old had been among the lowest earners in the Villa squad, on not much more than what promising academy players hoped to negotiate.
Fleetingly, harmony ensued, with the only dispute being how to fit Duran and Watkins into the same team and system. Duran was scoring goals off the bench, capturing the headlines and had momentum over the Englishman.
Team-mates and staff were, at times, blown away by Duran’s ability in training and what he could produce, to the extent that his thunderous winner against Everton in September was not seen as surprising. Other spectacular finishes followed, often proving the difference between one point and three for Villa.
The winner, in all its glory ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/L6fafOM6Cc
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 14, 2024
Duran scored winners against West Ham, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, altering how Villa’s start to the season was widely viewed. His dinked finish to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League will be permanently imprinted into club folklore.
Villa believed he had turned a corner. Following the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory away to third-tier Wycombe Wanderers — where Duran scored and played the full match — the squad were given the next day off. Duran instead completed a strength session in a private gym. This offered indications he was beginning to settle and sharpen his concentration.
“If there is a club that really thinks Duran can become one of the top strikers in the world, then that one club is Villa and that one manager is Unai Emery,” said Monchi, Villa’s president of football operations.
Heading into the festive period, Duran edged ahead of Watkins. He started and scored in league fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, before ending a four-game league run in the XI with a controversial red card away to Newcastle United on Boxing Day. As he left the pitch at St James’ Park, Duran kicked a water bottle in frustration, which meant he would receive a £15,000 fine from the Football Association on top of a three-match ban. He did not start for Villa again.
Duran reacted furiously to his dismissal against Newcastle (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Duran has, occasionally, been a disruptive presence. There were instances of him turning up late and disturbing team meetings. His attitude had been noted by multiple sources, who felt he could stray dangerously close to breaching Villa’s disciplinary standards, which were set by leaders in the dressing room. Duran’s representatives were approached for comment.
Villa were routinely exasperated by what they regarded as avoidable errors.
One issue was Duran’s social media activity. He regularly unfollowed the club on his Instagram account, deleted Villa-related posts and last summer, during a live video, crossed his arms in West Ham’s well-known ‘Irons’ gesture at a time when he wanted to join the east London club.
Around 90 minutes before kick-off in Villa’s FA Cup tie against Chelsea in January last year, Duran posted a message of congratulations to fellow Colombian Mayra Ramirez on moving to the west London club’s women’s team, using three blue hearts. This was at a time when Chelsea were showing an interest in him.
He liked online posts, including some from The Athletic, months after they were initially sent, which detailed an embrace between him and Chelsea’s then head coach Mauricio Pochettino before one game.
“We have been speaking a lot with him about his commitment over the whole season,” Emery said last year. “About being focused, about his development, respect and everything. When he made these mistakes, we spoke to him and tried to get him to show the commitment we want to build here.”
Duran is inherently provocative. He smiles and frowns, comically, when the camera lens zooms in on him. He flaps his arms when frustrated. Some within Villa’s hierarchy admit they treated him like a son, having regular chats to underline his importance. Emery and several of his Spanish-speaking staff tried to communicate with Duran in his native language.
In the end though, Villa felt they had to cash in.
Sources close to the dressing room accept it is difficult to keep two strikers of high quality, especially when it became evident that playing Duran and Watkins together negatively disrupted the Villa team’s overall structure.
“I made a mistake when I decided to play with two strikers and we lost the positioning,” Emery said after the 1-0 Champions League defeat away to Monaco last week.
“It makes sense for Duran to leave,” said one source this month. “It’s hard to hold two elite No 9s.”
It was always a case of when, rather than if, Duran would leave over the next couple of years, despite agreeing to that contract running until 2030.
There were too many unknowns with him. If Watkins had been the one sold instead, Villa still could not be sure if Duran had the consistency, mindset and application to perform each week. A fear of him pushing to leave in subsequent windows, even if he was the club’s undisputed first-choice striker, invariably remained.
Emery spoke of his pride in being able to develop a player who was about to be sold on for significant money even while questioning Duran’s motivations. If he’d wanted to stay, Emery would have kept working with him.
Villa’s manager saw him as a process lasting years, whereas Duran tended to fluctuate from week to week.
It all reached a point where the club were more inclined to take the money on offer, rather than live with the constant noise that accompanied him.
(Top photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
