Jhon Durán

[john e]

So are you saying get rid of Watkins?

If I had to go with one I think Duran is the future
But I hope it doesn’t come to that

I mean Watkins struggled to handle Ings as a strike partner but Ings was older and Watkins was considered the future
It’s the other way round this time

[Drummond]

I think Duran is excellent, and I love that he's ours, however, Watkins is reliable, scores goals, works hard and has his head screwed on.

I want both, and with the games we've got, and the way it's working, I don't think it's an either/or choice.

[LeeS]

Ollie looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is clearly not enjoying his football at the moment. I believe JD’s form is weighing heavily on his mind.

[Toronto Villa]

Doesn’t Ollie always look like that when he doesn’t score?

[Risso]

Why can Man U, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal all keep multiple top players in the same position and we can’t for fear of upsetting them?

Because none of them are Jhon Duran.

[Toronto Villa]

Why can Man U, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal all keep multiple top players in the same position and we can’t for fear of upsetting them?

Because none of them are Jhon Duran.

All of those clubs over the years have had players who wanted more playing time. That’s part of being in a top side. Jhon Duran can only get better which would mean a better side with even more competition and even less guarantee of first team football. He’s seeing that now based on what everyone at the club seems to saying regarding his focus and attitude. He’s just a young kid, with age of talent maturing in front of us in real time. You get the outrageous talent and occasional petulance. The closer Ollie gets to 30 and closer to the end of his peaks years we will see the rise of Jhon Duran as his successor.

[Risso]

I agree with the points you're making, and I hope he's seeing now that he's miles better off here under Emery than he would be anywhere else. He could have gone to West Ham for more game time, but they're never going to be anything better than top 10 hopefuls, or he could have gone to Chelsea, but then he'd be no more guaranteed game time there than he is here. Which all makes sense, but you do have to factor in that he's a bit mental.

The signs are promising that he's learned his lesson though.

[Toronto Villa]

It’s the mental side that makes him who he is. The sheer unpredictability brings about a madness that is hard to control but the flip side is it produces the goal from the weekend and the goal we all wished had stood yesterday. It’s going to be interesting to see how the season unfolds and if Duran is just too good to ignore and takes Ollie’s playing time. Or a midfielder for that matter as Emery has alluded to playing them together.

[john e]

Why can Man U, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal all keep multiple top players in the same position and we can’t for fear of upsetting them?

Because none of them are Jhon Duran.

All of those clubs over the years have had players who wanted more playing time. That’s part of being in a top side. Jhon Duran can only get better which would mean a better side with even more competition and even less guarantee of first team football. He’s seeing that now based on what everyone at the club seems to saying regarding his focus and attitude. He’s just a young kid, with age of talent maturing in front of us in real time. You get the outrageous talent and occasional petulance. The closer Ollie gets to 30 and closer to the end of his peaks years we will see the rise of Jhon Duran as his successor.

This is an ideal world scenario which we’d all like
But do you honestly think Duran and his agent are going to sit around waiting for Watkins to get a bit leggy before he gets a chance to be the number one striker

What’s going to happen when one of those teams you mention slap 70 million for him maybe even as soon as January
Don’t forget he wanted to go a couple months ago, he would’ve gone if someone stumped up 40 mill,
Alvarez left Man City because he wasn’t getting game time behind Haaland, Harry Kane please every game is under city is a big part player, Duran won’t settle for that

I’m just leaving in the real world asking real questions

[chrisw1]

The best thing that could happen would be a new contract, to shut his agent up and calm both him and us down.

But I do think it will be difficult to keep him and Ollie, which would be a huge shame.  Ultimately Ollie is one of the best strikers in the league and could lead our line for another 4 years.  We'd be mad to let that go, but Duran is teasing us with his brilliance and the FOMO if we ultimately have to let him go will be awful.

[Smithy]

Why can Man U, Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal all keep multiple top players in the same position and we can’t for fear of upsetting them?

Because none of them are Jhon Duran.

All of those clubs over the years have had players who wanted more playing time. That’s part of being in a top side. Jhon Duran can only get better which would mean a better side with even more competition and even less guarantee of first team football. He’s seeing that now based on what everyone at the club seems to saying regarding his focus and attitude. He’s just a young kid, with age of talent maturing in front of us in real time. You get the outrageous talent and occasional petulance. The closer Ollie gets to 30 and closer to the end of his peaks years we will see the rise of Jhon Duran as his successor.

Ollie is only 28, so probably has another couple of years at least before we notice even minor changes in his physical attributes.  He's at his peak, and after the season he's just had, he deserves to be our number-one striker right now.   But that doesn't mean it will be the same all season. Or next season.

We have to get beyond this mindset of "we'll never keep players happy if they're not playing 90 minutes every week".  If you're a mid-table outfit, playing maybe 40 games in a season, then that's possibly true, but when you're competing at the top end of the league, and in big competitions, with potentially 60-odd games to play, then players will be more comfortable with rotation.

Liverpool have Salah, Nunez, Gakpo, Elliot, Chiesa and Jota all wanting to be in their starting front three.  All with reasonable claims to be starters.  Do you think their fans are worried about keeping them all happy?

Having more than one very good option for each position is part of becoming a top club capable of competing on all fronts.  I have no doubt Duran will get plenty of opportunities this season, and more than a handful of starts - even if Ollie remains fit for the entire season.

I think the competition will be great, across the team, and not just up front. They all know one sub-par performance, one game at less than 100% effort, and there is someone equally talented chomping at the bit to take their shirt.  That's how it should be.

[Toronto Villa]

How many teams are out there that have the need and can lash out £70m though? It narrows the pool a lot. We saw in the summer how tight the market got. The time to get him was this summer and we declined something like 40 bids from across Europe if you believe what you read.

[Clark W Griswold]

I'd say his 3 goals and the one yesterday were all world class finishes. The one on Saturday was the best of the bunch and the one yesterday not too far behind. His goal against Palace last season was also of a similar standard. A player like that needs a lot more game time than we gave him last season, but i wouldn't out-rightly replace Watkins with him as first choice just yet. Watkins last season had one of the best i can remember from a Villa striker, Dwight Yorke levels.

What a great situation, as long as one of them doesn't throw the dummy out.

[Sexual Ealing]

He’s already as good as Watkins and he’s only going to improve.

[chrisw1]

Liverpool have Salah, Nunez, Gakpo, Elliot, Chiesa and Jota all wanting to be in their starting front three.  All with reasonable claims to be starters.  Do you think their fans are worried about keeping them all happy?

The difference is the top players start most weeks.  Even for Man City there will be 6-7 players who will start most big games.  The rest are very good players, but not quite the elite.

Salah & Haaland start every game of note.  Duran wants to be Salah, not Gakpo or Nunez.

Club stature also comes into it.  And whilst we're working on it, in the mind of a 20 year old kid we're miles off Liverpool, Man City etc right now.