Aston Villa
Premier League • England
Exclusive: Aston Villa slap mammoth price tag on Jhon Duran amid renewed Chelsea interest
Aston Villa star Jhon Duran scored a fantastic winning goal against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and TEAMtalk understands that Unai Emery’s side have slapped a new mammoth price tag on the striker.
The Colombian international has had a sensational start to the season and his value is rising every week with continuous top-tier performances.
Duran also has a better goal-to-minute ratio than Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, after scoring four Premier League games despite only playing 28% of Aston Villa’s minutes.
TEAMtalk can reveal that Chelsea remain interested in Duran but sources close to Aston Villa say that it will take over £80m for anyone to sign him.
They also stated that if the 20-year-old’s form continues his price tag will be closer to £100m, with Emery very reluctant to allow him to leave the club, as was clear in the summer.
Duran’s father recently stated that he hopes his son joins Real Madrid as that is his dream and something the forward has always wanted.
His current performances make it more and more likely that he will get a big-money switch to the Bernabeu, but Madrid are yet to show any concrete interest in him for now.
READ MORE: Real Madrid ready to barge Aston Villa aside for assist machine who’ll replace Modric
Duran exit ‘not impossible’ in January – sources
Chelsea had conversations with Aston Villa over a potential transfer for Duran but it did not move past talks as they were focused on trying to sign Victor Osimhen – a move that also didn’t come to fruition.
Aston Villa always felt they were in a strong position in negotiations given that Duran is under contract until 2028.
West Ham also held talks over an audacious move for Duran and the striker believed he was set to join the London club at one point, after he held positive talks with the club.
This led to Duran posing on Instagram live doing the famous Hammers symbol, and many at that stage believed that he wouldn’t play for Aston Villa again.
However, the forward ultimately remained at Villa Park and now he has shown why he has been tracked closely by some of Europe’s biggest clubs in his career.
Signing him in January is described as ‘not impossible’ by sources but a huge fee will need to be paid to sign the Aston Villa talisman.
Aston Villa battling Real Madrid for LaLiga ace – report
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Real Madrid are ready to go head-to-head with Aston Villa in the race to sign Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena.
Toni Kroos hung up his boots over the summer and fellow Real Madrid icon, Luka Modric, could follow suit at season’s end. The Croatian veteran, 39, is in the final year of his contract and is no longer a regular starter at the Bernabeu.
Baena is viewed as a potential replacement for Modri by Madrid’s recruitment chiefs but they face competition from the Villains for his signature.
Emery managed Baena during his time at Villarreal and is interested in bringing him to the Premier League and their relationship gives Villa an advantage in the race.
Baena, 23, is a key player for Villarreal and has made 122 appearances to date for the Spanish club, scoring 20 goals and making 35 assists in the process.
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