A late goal from Jhon Duran ensured that Aston Villa started the new Premier League campaign with a 2-1 victory over West Ham United on Saturday evening.
His ruthless finish from inside the penalty area was particularly notable after the 20-year-old had been linked with the Hammers for a number of weeks earlier in the summer transfer window.
West Ham had seemingly earmarked the Colombia international as their priority option to become first choice down the middle of Julen Lopetegui's attack.
Having opted against paying in the region of £40m for Duran and signing Niclas Fullkrug as an alternative, West Ham have now seemingly moved on from the former Chicago Fire man.
Nevertheless, the impact that Duran made at the London Stadium highlighted why Villa and the player need to ensure that they resolve their differences rather than go their separate ways.
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Can Duran manage frustrations?
If reports are to be believed, there have been question marks of Duran behind the scenes, and publicly revealing that he was happy to see rumours of a switch to West Ham did little to win over supporters.
However, Duran's frustrations are justified. Since his £18m arrival in January 2023, he still only has three Premier League starts to his name, with 33 coming from the substitutes' bench.
Seven starts have been made in other competitions, but that is not the reason why Duran opted to choose Aston Villa as his next club when he could have remained in MLS to continue his development.
There is likely an understanding why he is second fiddle to the free-scoring Ollie Watkins, who has incredibly contributed 34 goals and 19 assists during the last two Premier League campaigns.
That said, Duran is now the holder of a goals-per-minute ratio that is only second to Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.
What should catch the eye of Unai Emery are the teams that Duran has scored against, with three of his six strikes coming against either Man City or Liverpool.
103 - Jhon Durán has scored six Premier League goals from just 616 minutes played in the competition, an average of one every 103 minutes; among players to have scored 5+ Premier League goals, only Erling Haaland (85) averages a better minutes to goals rate. Impact. pic.twitter.com/FvgQ389zhv
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 17, 2024
"Some mistakes we have to accept"
Even after his impact in the capital, Emery still suggested that Duran could leave for the right price, albeit while acknowledging that the situation could have been handled better.
As quoted by BBC Sport, the Spaniard said: "We believe in him and his potential. We are open to working with him like he did today, helping the team, being available when we need him and today he was fantastic.
"Some mistakes we have to accept and of course not repeat it. At the beginning I wanted him here and nothing changed after the match today.
"We know his potential and we know if he is leaving the offer is too good for the club. But I don't want him to leave."
Whether Emery gets his wish remains to be seen; Watkins, who will have an extra week of training in his legs in comparison to the minimal time ahead of Saturday's game, seems likely to keep his place against Arsenal next weekend.
Darren Plant
