Unai Emery says Jhon Duran will play an “important” part in Aston Villa’s campaign after scoring the winning goal against West Ham United – one of the clubs linked with signing him in the summer transfer window.
The Colombia international, who told the club that he felt a move away from Villa Park would help further his career amid interest from Chelsea and the Hammers, landed himself in hot water last month when he made the Irons gesture during an Instagram live stream.
Ahead of this weekend’s encounter with Julen Lopetegui’s side, Emery referred to it as the kind of mistake a youngster would make and insisted the striker would play a role in the team as long as he’s at the club.
The Spaniard was true to his word, bringing Duran off the bench to replace Ollie Watkins just over an hour into Saturday’s game at the London Stadium.
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The lively forward made a crucial impact 17 minutes after entering the field, sweetly striking the ball past Alphonse Areola in the West Ham net.
Duran celebrated in apologetic fashion to the travelling fans, putting his hands out before pointing at the jersey, suggesting he wishes to remain at Villa.
Emery does not think it will end the speculation surrounding Duran’s future, but it’s clear he doesn’t want to see him leave the club following his post-match comments.
“It was a very important goal,” he told Sky Sports. “He’s completely involved with us after coming back from his holidays and after [representing] his national team.
“There will be more rumours about him after his goal, but I believe in him. I gave him 30 minutes today and he’s very important to us.”
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