Matt Law loves to drop an afternoon bombshell out of nowhere.
Just as people were getting settled in for a quiet afternoon, he gave a short update which was full of content.
As well as new about a potential wrinkle in the Michael Olise release clause situation, it also contained an update about Jhon Duran, the Aston Villa striker also currently being strongly linked with a move to Chelsea.
Law is a Villa fan, so it always feels like he is even more trustworthy when it comes to their news. We’ve heard a lot in recent days about Chelsea’s interest in Duran, but not a lot about Duran’s interest in Chelsea. It seems natural he’d want to move, but is that necessarily so, given Villa are in the Champions League and the Blues aren’t? Apparently so. Law writes that “Duran is understood to want to join Chelsea.”
Aston Villa are expected to demand between £40-45m for Jhon Duran. Chelsea will try to force the asking price down considerably and have been in touch with 20yo's representatives recently over a move. #CFC https://t.co/eOmhRbS3Xs
— Bobby Vincent (@BobbyVincentFL) June 12, 2024
Another piece in the transfer puzzle
Just because he wants to join us doesn’t mean he will push for it hard. But it’s a positive piece of news either way. If he’s the man that the co-sporting directors have decided they want as the alternate for Nicolas Jackson, the best they can hope for is that Villa need to sell for FFP, and Duran is keen to make the move.
The asking price of £40-45m being mentioned is crazy though. There’s no way Chelsea are paying that for anyone who’s not a certain starter up front, and while Duran might be considered a Jackson alternative, he’s not enough of an upgrade yet to warrant such a major outlay just yet.
When you can get Tammy Abraham for £20m or an elite striker for £80m, why pay such a sum for Duran? Talk it down to £30m, then we can see us being in business…
