Aston Villa could well be hitting their stride in the Premier League at the best possible time, with both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest showing recent weaknesses in their game.
Unai Emery's men are now only outside the lucrative five Champions League spots in the division on goal difference as Enzo Maresca's Blues nervously try to hold onto that final position, with a mightily impressive five wins from Villa's last six Premier League games keeping their European dreams alive.
unai emery-1
The added quality to the squad in the form of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford in January has certainly boosted their chances of clinching Champions League football again.
This summer's transfer window will further allow the West Midlands giants opportunities to bring in even more depth, with one rumoured face on the Villa Park shopping list perhaps going down as their next Jhon Duran if he joins.
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How Jhon Duran is performing in Saudi
The breathless Colombian would only go on to feature for the Villans 78 times, but he is still remembered in a fond light to this day for how impactful he could be off the bench when his team needed a moment of magic.
Indeed, before an insane £71m move to Al Nassr came to be in January, the sensational South American would fire home a sizeable 12 goals during the first part of 2024/25.
On the surface, this is already an imposing goal total worthy of praise, but staggeringly seven of those strikes would come about in Premier League action despite Duran only making four starts overall.
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Since heading to the Middle East, the forward has been on fire, scoring 11 goals in 16 games for his new employers who sit third in the Saudi Pro League.
In truth, losing the young forward hasn't hit Villa that hard, but NSWE definitely wouldn't turn down an opportunity to win themselves a new version of the relentless 21-year-old this summer.
Aston Villa could sign their new Duran
Emery will likely be keen to utilise all of his talented squad again next campaign, particularly if Champions League football returns to Villa Park and congests the fixture list.
Therefore, adding in a new winger in Malick Fofana as a further option in attack could be an inspired pick-up, with Caught Offside recently revealing that the Premier League titans could sign the promising 20-year-old from Olympique Lyonnais for around the £42m mark.
Just taking in a few clips of Fofana's excellence for Lyon this season displays how he's on the same wavelength as the now departed Duran, with both attackers in question boundless in their drive and energy when galloping forward, before being equally unafraid to unleash a vicious shot at an opposition goalkeeper.
It's resulted in Fofana - who is also on the radar of Liverpool and Arsenal - picking up a substantial 11 goals and five assists from 40 appearances down the Lyon left flank across 2024/25, despite also being resigned to a regular spot on Paulo Fonseca's bench much like the 22-year-old striker had to put up with under Emery.
Fofana at Lyon vs Duran at Villa in 2024/25
Stat
Games played
Games started
Minutes played
Goals scored
Assists
Stats by Sofascore
Looking at the numbers, whilst Fofana does have the advantage of starting 15 more games this season than Duran managed at Villa, the former has still been used rather sparingly in the French top division, with the Belgian only averaging 54 minutes of action per Ligue 1 clash.
But, the "magnificent" left-footed menace - as he has been labelled by talent scout Jacek Kulig - has still left his mark on a considerable number of contests all the same, seen in that growing total of 11 goals and five assists across a wide range of contests for Lyon.
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With a potential hole in the squad also needing to be filled down the left if Rashford departs, adding in Fofana does feel like a logical signing to soon make on Villa's end, with the one-time senior Belgium international also capable of being the club's next super sub.
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Aston Villa are chasing a current Premier League midfielder