Jhon Duran deserves Cole Palmer plaudits after Aston Villa goal flurry
Dwight Yorke knows a thing or two about scoring goals, and scoring goals in an Aston Villa shirt. The Trinidad and Tobago forward, who nowadays manages his country, netted 98 of them across nine years at Villa Park in the 1990s.
Now, Yorke watches from afar as Villa boast quality strikers Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran. The pair have been utilised accordingly by boss Unai Emery, with England forward and Villa's top scorer in the last four years Watkins taking the lead. Young attacker Duran often appears from the bench.
The Colombian is the club's top scorer this season, however, with a stunning goals to minutes ratio; despite his limited run-outs, Duran has consistently fired and to date has eight goals in 15 appearances across three competitions. The powerful forward scored a memorable winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, earlier this season.
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Yorke believes Duran's exploits deserve the same level of recognition and plaudits as Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer has been earning; the playmaker, who scored in England's Euro 2024 final defeat, has seven goals to his name this term but is widely considered to be among the best players in the Premier League.
For Yorke, Duran equally merits such praise for his own form shown in front of goal and the impact he has constantly made when coming off the bench for Villa.
"Everyone is saying Cole Palmer, and rightly so, because he’s been fantastic," Yorke told SafestCasinoSites. "I do think that with Palmer, he’s very much the media’s favourite flavour at the moment. Take nothing away from his play, because he’s been exceptional since he joined Chelsea, but he’s definitely the man in the spotlight at the moment that everyone is raving about in the press.
"He's English. He’s at the top of his game. Of course, the media in England are going to fall in love with him. So, yes, Palmer has been terrific, but I also want to give a nod to Jhon Duran at Aston Villa. I think he’s been spectacular this season. If you’re talking about impact, if you’re talking about important goals, then he’s been just as good as Cole Palmer and should be getting the same level of plaudits in my opinion."