Arsenal are the newest club to register an interest in Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran. Chelsea have been long-term admirers of the Colombian, while West Ham renewed their interest from last summer by tabling a £57million January bid that was rejected.

Mikel Arteta is keen to strengthen his attack and has subsequently issued several public cries for help to the Arsenal board, though no signing appears imminent. Benjamin Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak have all been linked, but the chances of any joining in the January transfer window is highly unlikely.

As a result, the Gunners appear to be considering their options with Evan Ferguson, Victor Boniface and Jhon Duran mooted as possible signings. The latter of those names has been regularly linked to an exit from Villa Park over the last 12 months, with it now appearing as though Arsenal are in the race to sign him.

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According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, contact was made recently by Arsenal to understand the conditions of a potential deal for Duran. Villa have been extremely busy in January, and that does not look likely to change right up until deadline day.

Diego Carlos has already joined Fenerbahce, while Emi Buendia is set to join Bayer Leverkusen. Coming into the club, meanwhile, is Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia after a deal for Loic Balde to join from Sevilla collapsed.

Emery quickly identified Juan Foyth and Chelsea's Axel Disasi as alternatives, with an agreement on personal terms for the latter struck promptly. As negotiations between Villa and Chelsea look set to begin over a loan fee, the Blues look to have asked about the possibility of signing Duran.

Despite having only joined Chelsea last summer for a fee in the region of £44million, Joao Felix's name has seemingly come up in talks with Emery, a huge fan of the Portugal international, as evidenced by his attempts to sign him from Atletico Madrid before he joined the Blues.

PSR stopped that from being sanctioned, and financial concerns could do so again, with the Telegraph claiming Villa would likely have to sell a player if they wish to sign Felix. This is where Arsenal could come into the picture and sign Duran from right under Chelsea's noses, exactly how they did with Mykhailo Mudryk two years ago.

A deal will certainly be complicated to agree on, and it does require a number of moving parts going in Arsenal's favour; however, there is a scenario where Duran is playing under Arteta for the remainder of the 2024/25 season and beyond.