Chelsea reportedly retain an interest in signing Aston Villa forward Jhon Duran before the end of the summer transfer window.
The Blues hierarchy have been relentless in acquiring new talent in recent months, including adding young striker Marc Guiu to their ranks.
However, although Joao Felix has recently entered the mix, head coach Enzo Maresca has not been presented with a trademark centre-forward with experience to challenge Nicolas Jackson.
On Tuesday, reports emerged that Chelsea were contemplating whether to make a formal move for Brentford's Ivan Toney, while there were seemingly developments in their pursuit of Victor Osimhen.
Club officials allegedly made their first formal attempt to reach a compromise over personal terms with the Napoli man, that seemingly being their preference.
Nevertheless, it appears that Chelsea have not ruled out the possibility of reigniting their interest in a player that they came close to signing earlier in the summer.
© Reuters
Duran remains on Chelsea radar
According to GIVEMESPORT, Villa face the prospect of having to fend off more offers from Chelsea for Duran before Friday's deadline.
When both sides were keen to conduct separate deals to bolster their position with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability regulations, a scenario was proposed where Ian Maatsen moved to Villa and Duran go in the opposition direction.
Instead, it was Omari Kellyman who signed for Chelsea after the West Londoners failed to meet the £40m valuation of the Colombia international.
There has been minimal talk since then, Duran having also failed to seal a move to West Ham United and strengthened his position in Unai Emery's squad.
The 20-year-old came off the substitutes' bench to score the winning goal against the Hammers on the opening day of the new Premier League campaign, while Ollie Watkins has looked off the pace in his first two appearances.
Villa are now in a position where they do not want to sell Duran, yet there is said to be the prospect of Chelsea being prepared to meet their previous valuation.
© Reuters
Could Villa afford to say no?
Emery acknowledged after Duran's impact against West Ham that mistakes had been made earlier in the transfer window, realistically from both sides with Duran having also talked up his chances of moving elsewhere.
That said, he remains a player who has still only made three Premier League starts since January 2023, and a £40m offer would represent more than doubling their money if Villa accepted a proposal.
Finding a replacement in such a short amount of time would be the issue, yet having that money at their disposal could still prove enough to bring in a suitable alternative given the players that remain on the market.
Darren Plant
