Aston Villa forward’s escape in tatters, with Prem pair’s snubs leaving options severely limited

Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran will find his desired escape from the club challenging now, as ‘options are limited’ after two Premier League sides exited the chase for him.

Duran has largely played a fringe role since joining Villa from Chicago Fire in 2023. In his first half season, the Colombian played in 12 Premier League games, failing to score.

He got his first top-flight goal last season, and added another four goals on top of that in the league, among his 23 appearances.

But main striker Ollie Watkins had the best season of his career, notching 19 league goals and 13 assists.

As such, Duran will find it a struggle to break past him in the pecking order, and he seemingly knows that, having spent the majority of the summer looking for a way out.

He is said to be hoping for an exit, having been on the radars of both Chelsea and West Ham.

He agreed terms with the latter, but they turned their attention to Niclas Fullkrug, as they could not reach the £40million fee Villa were asking for.

Football Insider reports the Hammers have officially ended their pursuit of Duran now, as have Chelsea.

DON’T MISS: The 10 most expensive Aston Villa signings of all time as £50m Amadou Onana takes top spot

Duran exit options low

The Prem pair exiting the scene for Duran is not good for his prospects of leaving.

He showed how desperate he was to join the Hammers, and in turn leave Villa, by making an Irons gesture on an Instagram live video.

According to reports, ‘options are now limited’ for him to find his way out the door at Villa.

Villa are still keen to sell, but if they don’t, Duran will be the one taking most of the embarrassment after trying to force his way out, not his club.

Chelsea prioritising Osimhen

The reason for Chelsea leaving the table for Duran is reportedly that they are negotiating a deal to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

And TEAMtalk sources state that, contrary to some reports, the electric forward does want to move to Stamford Bridge.

His wages will be able to be sorted by the London club.

And Napoli are more than keen to sign Romelu Lukaku, so there could well be legs in the move in either direction, even despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain in Osimhen.

READ MORE: Chelsea striker targets: EVERY centre-forward linked with the Blues this summer