Aston Villa battling Premier League rivals for £25m Jhon Duran replacement

The latest Aston Villa transfer news as another striker is linked with making the switch to Villa Park amid uncertainty over Jhon Duran's future at the club

Aston Villa have been linked with interest in Valencia striker Hugo Duro.

Despite possessing two of the Premier League's most in-form strikers, rumours continue to suggest Villa would make a move for another given the opportunity. This is because uncertainty still swirls over the future of one of those current options, Jhon Duran.

CaughtOffside are the latest to use the narrative to claim that the 20-year-old would push for a move away from the West Midlands for more minutes on field elsewhere. There is a reason his minutes-to-goal ratio has been far greater than others in the English top-flight this season so far, and that is because all four of his strikes have come after starting on the bench.

He is still unable to usurp Ollie Watkins, who after a slow start now has rediscovered rhythm to net four in his last three outings, so either he could ask for a transfer or even still, suitors may readily emerge in the wake of his ongoing form. This could open the door for Duro to arrive and fill a vacant spot.

The 24-year-old has scored twice himself in La Liga for 18th-placed Valencia. A team-mate of Enzo Barrenechea for the term, he is allegedly rated by his employers somewhere in the region of €25m-€30m (£20.8m-£24.9m).

Events would reportedly have to progress as explained above in order to get to this point, but if Villa do get to the stage of making their supposed interest concrete then it is said they would have to go head-to-head with rivals West Ham United.

Once hopeful of signing Duran only to fail to meet Villa's demanded fee, the Hammers are now also rumoured with admiration for Duro. They weren't willing to spend the £40m on Duran but signed 31-year-old German international Niclas Fullkrug for £27.5m instead, and he is yet to score for his new club.

And so, compatriot Julen Lopetegui is reportedly hopeful a more youthful but proven option in Duro will strengthen his forward line.

Would you be happy with this deal if it meant Duran leaving? Let us know HERE

Join our new Aston Villa WhatsApp community

BirminghamLive has launched its very own WhatsApp community to give you the opportunity to receive the latest Aston Villa news straight to your messages.

We will be sending the latest breaking news and top Villa stories directly to the WhatsApp community and we want you to be part of it. Users who want to join our community must have WhatsApp downloaded on their phone.

All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you joined the previous WhatsApp Community, make to sure to sign-up to our new one as they previous page experienced a technical error.

If for some reason you decide you no longer want to be in our community, you can leave by clicking on the name at the top of your screen and clicking 'Exit Group'.

You can read our Privacy Notice here.