Aston Villa have a whole lot of work to do earlier than their Premier League season will get underway subsequent month with a house tie in opposition to Newcastle United.
A number of summer season departures will doubtless happen, with Emiliano Martinez reportedly eager on a transfer to Manchester United, whereas Jacob Ramsey is attracting curiosity from Nottingham Forest. However, with their PSR considerations now a factor of the previous, loads of new signings might additionally arrive by means of the door quickly.
Particularly, some confidence-boosting attacking additions look to be a precedence, significantly if Ollie Watkins finally ends up becoming a member of Martinez as one other first-team face to have left the constructing.
Aston Villa contemplating transfer for £60m striker
Watkins does look to have a humiliation of riches with regards to who he might choose as his subsequent membership after Villa, with it being reported that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United are all eager on including the England worldwide to their respective sides.
Shedding Watkins could be a notable blow, however Villa might start to restore their depleted assault by including reported goal Alejandro Garnacho to their camp from the aforementioned Pink Devils, alongside raiding Enzo Maresca’s males when going after a recent centre-forward buy.
An replace from journalist Ben Jacobs by way of X signifies that Villa are within the working to land hot-and-cold Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson this summer season, with Villa contemplating his identify as they search out some extra personnel up high.
It is revealed that Chelsea will not be pushing the ex-Villarreal attacker out the door – regardless of his hit-and-miss ending potential – however they’d think about bids if some are forthcoming, with Jackson reportedly out there for across the £60m mark.
How Jackson could possibly be Villa’s subsequent Duran
It might be an almighty gamble on Villa’s finish to splash out some important bucks on such an inconsistent performer however there are similarities, not simply in the way in which they arrived within the nation, however of their play kinds too.
Certainly, the Villans took a threat once they landed Jhon Duran for £18m again in January of 2023, solely to be instantly vindicated when he turned a scientific hero for Unai Emery and Co.
In any case, Duran did not dive into the English recreation boasting probably the most mind-blowing numbers for Chicago Hearth, with solely eight targets coming his approach from 28 appearances within the Windy Metropolis.
But, he immediately turned a favorite within the West Midlands for his high-octane performances in assault, culminating in an enormous chunk of his 20 targets for Villa coming final season when he bagged 12 strikes from simply 29 outings.
Duran’s Aston Villa stats in 2024/25 |
||
---|---|---|
Metric |
PL |
UCL |
Objectives |
7 |
3 |
Assists |
0 |
0 |
Purpose conversion proportion |
23% |
21% |
Purpose frequency (minutes) |
89 |
79 |
Pictures per recreation |
1.6 |
2 |
Chelsea bought Jackson for across the £32m mark in the identical yr the Colombian arrived in England, realizing a lot extra might come from the 24-year-old in his new location, with Villa already on the receiving finish of Jackson’s deadly bursts when he headed residence this effort in opposition to them throughout his debut marketing campaign in West London.
Certainly, Jackson fired residence a promising 13 strikes in Spain earlier than embarking on this daunting journey with the Blues, and while there have been loads of grumbles at Stamford Bridge over his wastefulness, he has proven in spells that he generally is a lethal and impactful presence on his day, simply as Duran has.
Amazingly, regardless of squandering a pricey 43 massive possibilities throughout his two top-flight seasons at Chelsea, Jackson does nonetheless have extra strikes subsequent to his identify within the Premier League alone than Duran mustered up throughout his complete Villa Park stint, with 24 targets in 64 league clashes.
Regardless of that, there are stylistic similarities between the pair, because the numbers showcase.
Jackson vs Duran: 2024/25 |
||
---|---|---|
Stat (per 90 minutes) |
Jackson |
Duran |
Pictures |
3.08 |
4.27 |
Pictures on track |
1.38 |
1.93 |
Accomplished passes |
12.3 |
16.2 |
Progressive passes |
1.54 |
1.83 |
Shot-creating actions |
2.97 |
2.54 |
Profitable take-ons |
0.73 |
0.42 |
Stats by way of FBRef. |
Analysing the info, we get a way that neither are significantly concerned within the play in massive spells, registering fewer than 20 passes per recreation.
Likewise, neither striker significantly grabs the ball and takes a participant on, finishing fewer than one dribble per 90 minutes. Crucially, they each possess the power to play on the shoulder of the final man and have a gangly playstyle related to their top. Duran is 6 foot 1, whereas Jackson is 6 foot 2.
The 24-year-old Jackson would possibly nicely welcome a recent alternative at Villa, significantly when taking in Emery’s transformative powers that labored wonders on the likes of Marcus Rashford final season. He had skilled an equally difficult time at Manchester United earlier than bouncing again nicely with the Villans, amassing a blistering 4 targets and 6 assists in claret and blue.
Furthermore, it is even clearer from the Spaniard’s observe report with Duran that he could possibly be the supervisor to get much more out of a scapegoated Jackson, with the Senegal worldwide as soon as being labelled as a “particular” expertise by journalist Rahman Osman.
After all, this transfer would possibly nicely backfire if the 24-year-old’s wasteful shows rear their ugly head as soon as extra within the West Midlands. However, very similar to with Duran, it seems like a shot at midnight value taking.

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