Jhon Durán started his career at Envigado in the Colombian league before moving to Chicago Fire in the MLS.
On January 23, 2023, during the 2022/23 season, Aston Villa bought the striker for €16.64m when his market value was just €6m.
Now, the 21-year-old is valued at €40m per Transfermarkt and is almost untouchable at the club, having scored 12 goals in 25 matches, with seven in the EPL, three in the UCL, and two in the EFL Cup.
He has played 560 EPL minutes, 204 UCL minutes, and 180 EFL Cup minutes, totalling 944 this season, which equates to a goal roughly every 78 minutes.
In this scout report, we will explore why he is such a prolific striker, how he fits into the Aston Villa system under Unai Emery, and what his potential is in world football.
Jhon Durán Statistics 2024/25
Before examining some in-game footage and his performance on the pitch, let’s review some statistics from this season.
This is Durán’s first season playing top-flight European football, so it’s quite impressive for him to have achieved these numbers already with a new team, system, and league he’s never experienced.
Jhon Durán Player Radar Chart
Durán’s standout statistic is his shots-per-90, which ranks him in the 98th percentile, indicating a high volume of shooting.
His touches in the opponent’s penalty box are also notable, placing him in the 91st percentile.
As a big-man striker, he engages in offensive duels that rank him in the 78th percentile and excels in aerial duels, ranking in the 82nd percentile.
Surprisingly, he also ranks in the 98th percentile for defensive duels.
However, he ranks lower in dribbles per 90, at the 59th percentile, and in passes per 90, at the 47th percentile.
His goal contribution percentile is relatively low because he hasn’t recorded a single assist this season; all his contributions are goals.
If he can gradually improve his final ball delivery, he can certainly enhance his total goal contribution percentile.
Jhon Durán Shot Map 2024/25
From his shot map, we can see 11 non-penalty goals with an expected goals (xG) of 7.12, which suggests that Durán is highly efficient in his shooting.
The opportunities he receives are utilised effectively, as he is significantly outperforming his xG.
Jhon Durán Heat Map 2024/25
Durán’s heat map is fascinating to examine.
It shows a lot of intensity in the midfield and horizontally across the pitch in the winger areas, demonstrating just how active he is on the field.
Unlike typical strikers concentrated in the final third, Durán’s heat extends from midfield to the forward positions.
This shows his crucial role in the team’s build-up and link-up play in attack and transition.
How Jhon Durán Fits Into Unai Emery’s System
Unai Emery‘s tactical approach at Aston Villa revolves around flexibility and high intensity.
He can shape-shift the team through a 4-3-3 formation and 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 when defending.
His tactics rely heavily on quick transitions, using the pace and agility of wingers to switch from defence to attack, with midfielders that can make vertical runs alongside the striker, who in this case is Jhon Durán.
Jhon Durán Double Striker Movement
In the image above, we can see the double striker movement: a midfielder comes from the midfield position and makes a vertical run alongside Durán, who is the striker in this case.
This tactic occupies the central defenders of the opponent; this is where Durán truly excels.
He has some of the best striker movements in the world.
When another player takes defensive attention away from him, his intelligence and movement allow him to get into positions to score many goals.
In the image above, we can observe how the centre-back is moving away from marking Durán.
Now, Durán can position himself as a classic poacher, looking for the squared ball to put into the back of the net.
Jhon Durán Box Positioning
Durán embodies the classic number 9 positioning that football has been missing, similar to Cristiano Ronaldo’s evolution at Real Madrid, where he transitioned from a wide striker role to more of a central striker.
There are not many strikers anymore with that killer instinct in the box, but we’ll take a closer look at Durán’s role at Aston Villa.
Durán excels at being in the right spot at the right time and getting on the end of passes.
As shown in the two images above, he consistently positions himself correctly and capitalises on both opportunities as examples.
Not only is Durán excellent at finding the end of a pass and being in the right place with the ball at his feet, but he also has excellent jumping ability.
He can find open space to get on the end of crosses, which is another layer of being a pure number 9.
Jhon Durán In Build-Up Play
Jhon Durán not only displays amazing classic number 9 movement but is also extremely intelligent, helping the team transition to attack.
He consistently looks to come short of receiving and turning or playing 1-2 passes, doing anything he can to be involved.
Working under Unai Emery will only help him grow his game.
Emery’s tactics revolve around dynamic, flexible players who have a strong overall game rather than being one-dimensional.
He loves to play one or two passes and make runs forward.
Due to his physical stature, Villa uses him as a target man in the build-up.
As you can see from the sequence above, he can absorb some pressure, release it, and make the defence out of position.
Durán is experiencing his first season at the highest level of football but remains very calm under pressure.
The image above shows Manchester City‘s press when he receives the ball in midfield.
Despite this, he’s able to hold off Manchester City players and look for the right pass, twisting and turning until he can release the ball.
Maintaining composure and finding space under pressure is a key part of his skill set.
Jhon Durán Ball Striking
Clean ball striking is very difficult to master.
Although you can practice it every day, it often requires natural talent that is developed at a young age.
Jhon Durán has some of the best ball-striking skills in world football, clean precision with power and speed, and is capable of executing shots from many angles and even from distance.
In his recent goal against Red Bull Salzburg in the UCL, you can see how good Durán’s ball striking is.
From well outside the box, he cleanly hits the ball, and with surrounding players ready to pressure him off it, he sends the shot into the top corner of the net, leaving the goalkeeper no chance.
Another example of this is when he scored his first-ever UCL goal against Bayern.
Once again, from a very tough angle and far out, he executed a clean strike when he noticed the goalkeeper was out of position.
Jhon Durán Shot Selection
Although Jhon Durán has demonstrated great ball-striking ability, as evidenced by his ability to score ‘screamers’ by launching long-range shots into the top corners, his shot selection remains a potential concern.
For instance, early in the game against Manchester City, Durán had a great opportunity when Ederson was far out of the box.
He opted for a long shot attempt, but he had the time to take an additional two steps forward to get closer and better assess his options.
His natural instinct and quick thinking to shoot quickly when the keeper is out is great, but his shot selection could be better at times.
Conclusion
Jhon Durán is a physical and fast number 9 who has some of the best striker movement, reminiscent of the world’s best strikers, such as Luis Suárez, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Ronaldo Nazário.
His ball-striking is world-class; he can hit the ball from various angles with great power and speed.
Durán is intelligent in his movements in the box and in his build-up play.
He helps his team transition from the middle of the pitch to the final third and is great in link-up play.
He’s having a great season at Aston Villa, and while it’s beneficial for him to spend a few more seasons at the club, it’s hard to imagine him staying long, given his potential.
He could likely draw interest from some of Europe’s most prestigious clubs in the future, such as Barcelona after Lewandowski, Bayern Munich after Harry Kane, or Real Madrid if they seek a pure number 9.
The list of potential clubs that will fight for his signature in a few years can go on.
Kurosh Moghtader, currently based in Ontario, Canada, is a data analyst and content writer for Total Football Analysis and a student of accounting and finance at the University of Waterloo. A passionate Juventus supporter, he maintains a keen interest in Italian football.