On Tuesday, Il Mattino reported Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán has ‘bewitched’ Napoli, who have held talks with the Premier League side’s intermediaries for the striker.
Italian journalist and Napoli expert Ciro Venerato has partly backed up this claim about the Serie A side liking the 21-year-old.
He talked about their interest in the Aston Villa star on Televomero’s Terzo Tempo Calcio Napoli and his comments are relayed by Tutto Napoli.
Venerato claims Giovanni Simeone and Giacomo Raspadori are likely to leave the Italian club after this season and they will have to sign two strikers next summer.
This is where the Colombia international would fit in and the idea to sign him is endorsed by the key figures at Napoli. The journalist adds the Antontio Conte’s side have already held talks with the player’s agent and will soon hold negotiations with Aston Villa.
“There is a player that De Laurentiis, Manna and Conte are crazy about, he is Jhon Durán from Aston Villa, he costs €40m. Napoli have already had two talks with the player’s agent and will soon have a conference with the English club shortly,” he said.
“He is a profile that has been evaluated and already promoted by the whole of Calcio Napoli.”
Venerato claims it’s important to find out about the Villans’ stance on the South American, who extended his contract [until 2030] in October.
“We need to understand the availability of Aston Villa and the agreement on the evaluation. We also need to understand if Napoli, in order to beat the competition, can take him as early as January and leave him in England until June or whether to make an operation that contemplates the summer market,” Venerato explained.
Unai Emery & Aston Villa director Monchi will have a decision to make if Napoli were to make an approach for Durán.
The frontman has scored 11 goals from 24 games for Aston Villa this season.