Jamie Carragher tells Aston Villa to 'go against the grain' with £70m transfer advice
Aston Villa should sell Jhon Duran in order to ensure that Ollie Watkins remains their main man going forwards. That is the view of pundit and former Liverpool centre half Jamie Carragher, who reasoned that Villa should be demanding up to £70m from any interested club in this January transfer window.
Duran and Watkins have gone toe to toe in the last 12 months or so - especially since the beginning of this season - in fighting for the lone striker role in Unai Emery's starting XI. Prior to Christmas, Duran - who had scored regularly and made a significant impact in three different competitions - had the shirt, but his red card at Newcastle opened the door for Watkins again.
The England international netted in the 2-2 draw at Arsenal last weekend while he also scored the recent winner at Everton, too. For Carragher, Watkins remains the player who Emery and Villa should prioritise for the coming years - and Duran should be the player who is sacrificed, but for a significant fee.
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"I'd sell Jhon Duran," Carragher told Sky Sports. "It probably would go against the grain of what most football clubs would do because normally in that situation you would sell the older one in Ollie Watkins. You'd be thinking this one, Duran, will be around for a long time.
"I would try and get another £10m out of them because he looks a great player, but I think when people talk about having big squads, sometimes players need to know they're playing. Tottenham could never find a striker when they had Harry Kane because no good striker is going to wait for Harry Kane.
"I don't think you're getting the best out of Ollie Watkins when he knows he'll be coming off for Jhon Duran with 20 minutes left in the game - but he has to bring Duran on for 20 minutes, because he's going to be unhappy. Sometimes you can have players who are so good but are in the same position.
"One player needs to know he's the man, that player is Ollie Watkins. I think you can get good money for Jhon Duran. It's not like Watkins is finished, he's still got another three or four years at this level. I know Villa fans might say he's a great young striker, but I just don't think the dynamic is going to work. Get your £60-70m and reinvest somewhere into the team."
